Sort of a Half-Blood
by MelodyPond77
Summary: An orphan, Silena Ashington, stays with and befriends the three young Potters and their family the summer before her first year of Hogwarts. This friendship is followed by a myriad of stunning adventures as young Silena leads them into mischief with her odd, not-quite-human ways. Follow the next generation in their years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
1. The Leaky Cauldron

The Leaky Cauldron was the last place Neville expected to meet Minerva McGonagall. Yet at 6 pm, wrapped in an emerald green robe and sitting ramrod straight, she was there, in the corner, surveying the room with slight contempt. The bar was filled with young couples, laughing and chatting away as they ordered butterbeers and firewhiskeys from Tom the bartender. As Neville entered the room, Minerva stood, awaiting his presence with her usual stony face.

"Evening, Professor. You wished to speak with me about something?" He smiled at the stern old lady, not intimidated at all by the piercing grey eyes, iron posture, or disapproving look. He waited for her to seat herself, and then joined her, waving Tom over for a butterbeer.

"Longbottom, I have repeatedly told you: as my colleague you are to call me Minerva, not Professor."

"Professor, you still address me as Longbottom. Old habits die hard, don't they?" He gave her an impudent grin she had never seen on his face before the final battle; it was one of the many changes in her timid former student she had observed since his graduation.

"Touché. That's not why I asked you here today. There is a student in the muggle world I would like you to collect. Her name is Silena Ashington, and she is currently residing at Burlington Orphanage, in Sussex."

"An orphan? Does this seem wise, Professor? Considering the last orphan from an orphanage turned into a rampaging dark wizard and nearly destroyed the entire world as we know it?"

"I've my cautions as well, Longbottom. However, the Dark Lord was a special case. It is my belief that this Silena girl will be different. Very different." Her tone suggested some irksome detail that Neville wasn't going to like.

"Professor? What's the catch? You've got that tone you used to get when Harry did something stupidly brave and didn't get killed."

Chuckling softly over the memories that surfaced with that name, Minerva McGonagall locked her gaze with Neville's.

"Silena Ashington isn't a full wizard… Actually she isn't fully human."

The silence grew thicker as Neville tried to comprehend what the headmistress had just said.

"If she isn't fully human… What else is she?"

"Half elf."

* * *

"Professor you're nuts!" Neville sat up in shock. A half elf?! Elves were notorious for being mischievous, but they could never lie, so at least there was a limitation to their danger. However, their illusions were still dangerous to even the most powerful wizard. A mix of elfin and human blood… The possibilities were more than even Hermione Granger could calculate.

"I am not 'nuts', Longbottom. It would be dangerous to have this girl at Hogwarts, yes, but would it not be even more dangerous to leave a child running around England without the ability to even control whatever powers she may develop? At least with her in the castle we can keep an eye on her. She won't be in danger, and she won't be a danger."

Sighing slowly, Neville leaned back in his chair again. "And you want me to go collect her?"

"I've observed that orphanage, and the treatment of the children is absolutely dreadful. I'm afraid her powers are also getting stronger. I was hoping she could stay with you or Potter before the beginning of term in a few weeks. If we can get her out of there, we could stall whatever damage the abuse is doing to her mind. We'll have to hope her situation isn't as potent as the Dark Lord's was. Besides, you both have first years this year don't you?"

"Yes, but Professor, do you think it wise for her to stay with her professor's family for the first couple of weeks? It's going to be a big shock for her to learn she's a witch, without the added confusion of not knowing whether to treat me as host or professor. And with Hannah expecting the baby I don't want to add the stress on her… Would you like me to talk to Harry?"

"I understand, Longbottom. I'll talk to him myself. I've been meaning to visit anyways."

Standing to leave, the two wizards shared grim looks. "Owl me when you've spoken to Harry and I'll collect her straight away. Let's hope this girl has a sweeter disposition than her ancestors."

* * *

After receiving the Potters' welcoming reply, Minerva McGonagall apparated a few feet from their home in Godric's Hollow. She didn't seem to be the only company for dinner, as she saw Rose and Hugo Weasley racing around the yard on broomsticks with James. The third year chaser was as excellent at Quidditch as his father and grandfather before him, and though she would never admit it, she was glad to have the impertinent boy on her team.

As she walked to the front door, she observed through the window the happy family. She hoped Harry and Ginny would take in the little elfin girl, because she knew if they did, the little girl might learn what a real family was like.

"Hullo Professor! Come to join us for dinner? We're celebrating Harry's birthday and there's room for one more." Ron Weasley called out as he came striding up behind her, Hugo climbing all over his back.

"Yes, I had a favor I wished to ask of Harry and Ginny. I would quite enjoy staying. Thank you for inviting me." The old woman responded, ever the poised teacher. Smiling and swinging his eleven-year-old son back to the ground, Ron motioned for his old professor to follow him inside.

"So Professor, what was it you wanted to ask us?" Harry and Ginny had led Minerva into the kitchen for a private talk while Ron and Hermione watched the children. While Ginny busied herself with the dishes, Harry cast the _muffliato_ curse at the door to discourage his nosy sons from listening in.

"There's a little witch out in Sussex, in a muggle orphanage-"

"Are you worried she may turn out like Voldemort? I'm sure that was a specific case, Professor." Harry quickly interrupted, although his brain began to think of worst-case scenarios, as he had been trained as an Auror.

"Please, Potter, don't interrupt. While that was a concern, I do believe his was a… special case. This little girl, Silena Ashington is her name, is a special type of witch. I'm worried about the treatment of the children at the orphanage. I've been observing them day and night, and the mistress of that place is nearly as bad as your aunt and uncle, Harry. I do believe they've turned the cellar into a dungeon, and not for potions lessons! It's quite terrible. I was hoping that you could take her in for the remainder of the summer, before the children left for school. It may be good for her to meet children her age, and Lily will be a first year as well, won't she?"

"We would love to, Professor, wouldn't we, Harry? We can fit another bed in Lily's room, and I'm sure she would enjoy having another girl in the house." Ginny smiled at the thought, clearly not only thinking of Lily's enjoyment.

Harry, who had been in trouble with McGonagall enough times to recognize when more bad news was to be expected however, looked the head of his old house straight in the eyes and got to the point.

"Why is this little girl so special? There's something amiss here, Professor. All of this could have been said in a letter."

"This girl may not be exactly… human. Do you remember the delegation we had with the elves a few years after the end of the war? While we aren't sure of the father, we do know that this girl was the result of that visit. She was placed in the muggle world because she didn't fit in with the elves."

Ginny dropped the plate she had been levitating into the sink with a loud clatter. "You want us to take a half elf into our house for a month?! Professor, elves are notorious for being mischievous and untrustworthy, despite their inability to lie. What type of abilities would a half-elf have? Is she safe?"

"In all of my observations, my dear, I have not seen a malicious intent once. However, she is obviously very clever and has gotten herself into trouble multiple times with her raids on the pantry. To be quite honest, she reminds me of your twin brothers, dear." McGonagall replied with a rueful smile, recalling with fondness the multiple pranks the Weasley twins had played upon the entire castle in their 6 years at Hogwarts.

Harry spoke up from the corner, where he had been siphoning water off the plates his wife had washed. "Do you, in your honest opinion, believe any harm will come to our family if this girl stays with us?"

Minerva locked eyes with her former pupil, reading the challenge in them, knowing he would fight tooth and nail for his family and would read any lies in her eyes immediately. "I believe, with all my heart, that if you show this girl the love and care you show your own children, she will stand by you through thick and thin and never cross you. But if you treat her with the abuse and disrespect shown to her by those despicable muggles in that orphanage, you will find in her a most formidable enemy."

Harry and Ginny took her words in, sharing a look that seemed to hold hours of conversation. With one slight nod, Harry turned to Professor McGonagall and said, "We'll take her."


	2. Thievery

**A/N and Disclaimer: Hello fantasmic, possibly nonexistent readers! Because I forgot to mention this at the beginning of chapter one, you lucky little gremlins get a bonus chapter. Consider this a disclaimer for both chapters 1 and 2: Any Harry Potter characters, scenes, places, etc you recognize, I don't own. Anything you don't recognize is mine! Savvy?**

**A little notice of business: I am going to attempt to upload a chapter every Monday. If, dear reader, Monday rolls around and I fail to upload a chapter for that week, feel free to send me a nice, casual reminder via review or PM. (No mean messages, please. I am human after all.) Other than that, review to let me know you exist and I'm not addressing a room full of cyber gremlins, or if you would like to let me know I'm doing something wrong. Or right. **

**Read and review, and on to Chapter Two!**

Chapter 2

Neville, dressed in uncomfortable muggle clothing, strode up the stone steps to the heavy, wooden door. It had an imposing figure that reminded him of the door to the Hogwarts dungeons, which had been the home of the terrifying Severus Snape. He felt the same sense of foreboding danger upon approaching the Burlington Orphanage as he had for every potions lesson of his schooling.

Feeling a pang of pity for the children forced to reside in this miserable, stone building, Neville knocked thrice with the loud, metal doorknocker. The cool metal was twisted into a snarling wolf beneath his gloved hands, and only served to add to the chilling décor of the orphanage.

"Yessir? Are you Mr. Longbottom, sir? The missus has been expecting you," A young maid, looking scarcely sixteen, answered the door with a curtsy and waved the young professor into an equally dismal lobby. "Please wait here, sir, while I fetch Ms. Benson.

Neville waited, alone, for what seemed an hour before a tall, imposing figure appeared at the top of the steps. Striding regally down the stone staircase, she would have closely resembled a Minerva McGonagall in her younger days, save for the cruel smile on her face. This woman was obviously keen, cruel, and cold-hearted. Each harsh line of her features sent a chill down Neville's back he had not felt since his first encounter with Voldemort.

"Mr. Longbottom, I presume? You are a professor?" The smooth voice was quite unlike the soft, cruel tones Neville was expecting. It was, in fact, quite melodic with its Welsh accent.

He nodded politely to her. "Yes, ma'am, I am. I am a professor at a school for special children, called Hogwarts. I wished to speak to you of a certain orphan here, a miss Silena Ashington? She has come to our attention and we wish her to attend our school."

"Has this anything to do with her odd abilities? She believes she can fool me, and I have had the misfortune of never catching her red handed, but I know she is the one behind the thievery." She dropped her accusations easily, as though it was common for children to steal from their benefactors. If McGonagall had not already warned Neville of the near starving condition many of the children were in, he would have been shocked.

"Thievery?" He simply replied, wishing to know more. Perhaps this muggle, for she was clever, could shed some light on what type of magic was manifesting in the little girl.

"Yes, thievery. I have only managed to catch a glimmer here, or the flick of a golden braid there as she runs from the kitchen, but I am certain this girl has been stealing food from the pantry. She is very quick and clever, but unfortunately puts her skills towards poor behavior that often results in punishment. I do hope your school can fix her criminally inclined ways."

"How odd. Well, I should like to speak to her before we leave, to make sure she will accept a place in our school. I will, of course, question her about her habit of thieving. A few trifling details I would like to discuss with you before I speak with the child, though. She will be allowed to stay at the school for the winter and Easter breaks, but during the summer she must return to the orphanage for the duration of the holiday. Of course, there are visits to friends, so she shouldn't be too much trouble on you during those holidays. Which leads me on to the other notice. I have a friend whose daughter will be entering her first year at Hogwarts as well, and they have invited young Silena to stay with them for the remainder of the summer. They will take care of the preparations for school; they will purchase textbooks and other school supplies. All of the costs will be covered on scholarship by the school, and shall be of no worries to you. This family will also take her to the train station when they leave for school. Is all this acceptable to you?"

"Must we compensate for their troubles?"

"Everything will be taken care of. We understand you have other children to watch out for, so we at the school have attempted to ease the burden on your part."

"As long as we don't have to pay, the situation seems fine. As long as Silena is not troubling me any longer, I shall be happy," Ms. Benson remarked carelessly.

Silently attempting to contain his rage, Neville nodded. "Might I meet the girl now? I should like to speak to her."

"Yes, please wait here. She is currently being punished for her latest thievery; let me go collect her." The thin spinster whirled in a flurry of skirts and clicked her way down a flight of stairs. A few minutes later, after a long and tense silence, Neville heard the sharp sound of heels on stone floors and the scuffle of soft shoes, along with a door slam. Up the stairs the two came, Silena being pushed before the mistress.

She was a sight. Her blond hair was unwashed, dirty, and had definitely not been combed in a few days. Her face was smudged in places, and her hands were cracked and dry as if she had been working with hard soap for hours. She was dressed in a brown, coarse dress, misshapen and ill fitting. Neville didn't know how any clothing could fit her small, starved frame. There were bruises on her arms and face, as if she had been beaten. Her blue eyes were downcast and filled with fear.

"Hello, Silena. I am Professor Longbottom. Might I speak to you in private about my school?" He spoke to her as kindly as he could, for although he knew of the danger she could pose, his heart went straight out to the poor child the moment he saw her trudging up the steps.

Ms. Benson stiffened at the mention of a private conversation, and was very obviously not happy with these terms. Silena, however, seemed both relieved and guarded at being left by Ms. Benson.

"Perhaps she could show me her room? Is that a private place to speak?" He directed his next words to the mistress, making it clear she was not invited. She nodded sullenly and pointed up the stairs in an obvious command for the two disappointing human beings to leave her sight, before whirling on them and stalking into her office.

Once she was gone, the little eleven-year-old skipped up the stairs, seeming much more like the elfin child Neville knew her to be. He noted, as he jogged up the stairs behind her, that the tips of her ears were slightly pointed. He had expected her to look a bit like a house elf, but surprisingly, this was not so. Although Professor Mcgonagall had assured him of the differences between house elves and regular elves, having never met a regular elf, he was not sure of what to expect. The effect was surprisingly nice. She had a small, light figure, with sharper features. Her ears were slightly pointed, her eyes were round and wide, and her mouth seemed to turn up just a bit in the corners, giving her a look that made you want to laugh and guard your wallet at the same time. It reminded him of Fred and George Weasley.

At the top of the stairs, she turned back and waited for him to catch up. "I share a room with three other girls," she stated, "but I do know of a place no one will be at the moment." She led him down the hall, towards a tiny closet at the end. Opening it, she revealed a little attic room, housing a small stool, broom, and multiple boxes. "We come in here to play sometimes. We pretend it's a sitting room, and we are magnificent lords and ladies, as rich as can be and arrayed in fine clothing. It's a nice distraction from the reality," she added, a tad melancholy, as if she knew this wasn't the life a normal child should be leading.

As he took a seat on one of the boxes, he folded his hands, looking into her expectant eyes. "What I'm about to tell you can be repeated to no one here, understood?" At her affirming nod, he continued, feeling no fear she would ever turn out to be like the last orphan who had received one of these house calls. "Hogwarts isn't just a school for special children. It's a school of magic…"


	3. Freedom

**Disclaimer: Still don't own J.K Rowling's characters. Only my own. Oh, and I realized that according to canon, McGonagall retires before James gets to Hogwarts. But they don't give a successor, and let's all be honest with ourselves, McGonagall is a much better Headmistress. So I think I'm going to break canon, even though I don't really like to do that, and I'll have her retire sometime soon. She just worked with the whole getting Silena thing. I figured she would know about that. Also, Silena gets her Hogwarts letter, and, well, I'm not British so I honestly have no clue how to write the postal address... If anyone does know how feel free to correct me! **

**Loonynameless: Yes, she has friends at the orphanage. You're about to meet them both. They aren't big yet but they will become important. Also, all the orphanage characters are, of course, mine. Also, you get to learn more about Silena here. I know last chapter you didn't learn that much about her, but she's developing. :)**

**And without further ado... Chapter 3!**

Chapter 3

After speaking with Professor Longbottom, Silena exited the closet to retrieve her possessions in a daze. A witch? That did explain a lot. Why she could trick the others into not seeing her, why she never got hurt. That one time she fell out of the three story window and just rolled on the pavement without a scratch had puzzled Ms. Benson greatly.

With a light spring to her step, she began throwing her few meager possessions into a bag. Who cared about the witch part? She was content just leaving the orphanage, even if she had to return each summer. The added bonus of being a witch was just that: a bonus.

A slight knock at her door woke her from her daydreaming. "Silena?" Little four-year-old Owen, a fellow orphan, slipped in quietly with his little sister, Katherine, who was three. Seeing what she was doing, the two of them stood in shock, lower lips beginning to tremble.

"Are you really leaving, Silena?" Owen asked in a wavering voice. He slipped his little hand in to hers and looked up at her with wide, pleading eyes. "Please don't leave us." The look in his young eyes went straight to her heart, and hurt her.

"I have to go, but it won't be forever. I'll come back next summer. Possibly over christmas and Easter as well, depending on what Ms. Benson allows. Don't let her push you around too much, dear. Hide if she gets into one of her fits. You know the place, right? Say 'Lemon drop' like I do, and you'll be able to see the door. Keep each other safe, and I promise you, I'll be back before you can miss me." She kissed them each on the forehead and grabbed her bag as she headed out of the room.

* * *

It had been ages since she had been outside and Silena was enjoying the feeling of the sun on her face and arms. She skipped alongside the professor, completely forgetting her fear of the unexpected in her joy of leaving the orphanage. "Turn here, Miss Ashington," Professor Longbottom pointed to a dark alley that was completely deserted. It seemed to suck the light and color from the world and was a positively dreadful place to go. Silena nervously stepped into the alley, her senses going on high alert. "Are you certain, Professor? This doesn't' seem very safe…" He smiled and motioned for her to stop behind a large dumpster, from which a nauseating stench emanated. For the first time, Silena began to wonder if her desperation for family and safety would only lead her to being found dead in an alley, killed by a psychopath. "Please, take my arm, Miss Ashington." The professor offered an arm to her, with a pleasant smile on his face. He was _too_ pleasant, Silena thought. She hadn't met anyone this pleasant before… "I think I should be going, sir. I'm not sure if you're all right…" She backed away slowly.

"Do you fear me, Miss Ashington? I've been nothing but nice to you; I don't understand why you would." His smile had turned into a sad frown, as if she had hurt his feelings.

"Sir, it's because you're so nice that I'm afraid… No one's ever been this nice to me." The young girl was blatantly honest as she regarded him with suspicion.

"Miss Ashington, let me assure you that it is _not_ the custom to beat children, and, in civil society, it is customary for a lady to take a gentleman's arm when offered. Now, the reason I wish you to take my arm is so we can perform magic, called 'Disapparating'. It's going to feel unpleasant, like you are being stuffed inside a tube and squeezed hard, but only for a moment, and after this momentary unpleasantness we will have arrived at the home of a very nice family. These are the Potters I told you about. The five members of this family are even nicer than I, and I wish you to understand that they will do everything in their power to keep you safe and comfortable. There is no catch, no underhanded measures that you need to worry about. Do I make myself clear?" the professor admonished her gently. She knew he was not mad, but she felt slightly ashamed that she had mistrusted the gentle man.

"Yes, Professor, I understand." Swallowing the remainder of her fear, she grasped Neville's arm tightly as he twisted into oblivion.

* * *

They arrived after what seemed like a moment but also an eternity in that constricting dimension. Gasping for breath, Silena looked around wildly for a bush to be sick in. Finding one, she ran over and promptly threw up whatever breakfast she had had (which was just a small piece of bread and a glass of water) into it. "There's that, too. I forgot to mention the nausea."

Turning, her face aflame, for she had just been sick in front of her professor, Silena slunk back to his side. "I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to be sick." He had been so nice to her and she had embarrassed herself completely in front of him!

"Oh, it;s quite all right, Miss Ashington." He removed a thin piece of wood from a pocket inside of his coat and waved it. She turned towards the bush and noticed that it looked just like it had before she had hurled all over it. Somehow, he had made her sick disappear!

She turned to him with wide eyes. "Is that magic? You just wave a thin stick? And it does whatever you want?" That didn't seem to hard. She didn't see why she had to go to school for that.

He laughed. "No, Miss Ashington, that's not _all_ that magic is. You must use a spell- specific spells will do specific things. You'll learn those in Charms and Transfiguration class. However, you can also make potions, and use magical plants, and there are magical creatures that you can do magic with. There are lots of different ways of doing magic. What I just did was the Vanishing Spell. That's a complicated Transfiguration spell that you won't learn for a while." He smiled in amusement as her curious face fell.

"Where do I get one of those? The sticks?" She was looking at his with peaked curiosity.

"My wand? We'll buy you one in Diagon Alley. It's where you'll be able to find all of your school supplies. Oh! That reminds me-Here is your letter. You must read it and write your acceptance." He handed her a thin letter with addressed to her on the front in jet black ink.

_Miss Silena Ashington_

_Room 2 _

_Burlington Orphanage_

_Sussex, England_

"A letter? For me? I've never gotten a letter before. Was it supposed to come in the mail?" She smoothed it in her hands, not opening it just yet.

"Well, not the muggle mail. We deliver our mail by owl. Owls are extremely intelligent, and they are much more trustworthy with a letter than the muggle mail. Go on, open it." He gestured to the letter, which she immediately turned over, tore the seal, and unfolded.

_Dear Miss Ashington, _it read. _We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…_ Silena read the letter all the way to the end, registering the assurance that all school supplies would be paid for, the ticket enclosed for the Hogwarts Express, and the information that it left at eleven am on September 1st, from platform 9 3/4. Although she was _pretty_ sure most train stations didn't use fractions, she didn't question it. If wizards had ways of traveling that felt like you were being squeezed into a tube of toothpaste, they could surely have train stations with fractions.

As she had been reading, Silena hadn't realized they had arrived at the Potter house. They stopped in front of the gate. Silena gazed at it in excitement. The gabled house was a beautiful baby blue, with white trimming. The front yard was decent sized and surrounded house, only being cut off by two side gates next to the house. She could tell that behind the house, the backyard opened into a nice meadow that would make a perfect place to play. There were kids playing in the front yard, most with red hair but a few blondes and brunettes, and one boy with jet black hair who seemed to be about twelve or thirteen. He was the one who noticed Neville and Silena standing in front of the white, picket gate.

"Mum! Dad! Professor Longbottom is here! He's brought a little girl!" He shouted in to the house, only briefly taking his eyes of this novel person in his front yard. His loud voice not only brought his parents-his father's looks now explained the boy's non-traditional black hair- but also caused all the children to stop what they were doing and stare.

Feeling as if she were about to enter the lion's den, Silena followed Professor Longbottom up the front walk, as close behind him as his shadow. Before she could slip inside the house and out of sight, though, a girl about her age with long, dark red hair tapped her on the shoulder.

Silena whirled in fear, emitting a little shriek that caught the professor's attention and caused all the adults to turn to the two children. Blushing with embarrassment, for she had not meant to frighten the girl out of her wits, the ginger girl stuck her hand out, saying, "Hi. I'm Lily Potter. Sorry for scaring you…" She trailed off, standing awkwardly with her hand extended, waiting for the shake that would make everything all right again.

To Lily's delight, the little girl smiled, grasping Lily's soft hand in her own small, callused one. "It's nice to meet you, Lily. I'm Silena. Silena Ashington." The whole family breathed a sigh of relief as the first of many friendships was formed.


	4. The Ginger Clan

**Disclaimer: Still don't own JKR's characters. **

**Shatteredxo: thanks for the follow!**

**Hey Gremlins! (For those of you who are still confused on why I call you gremlins- read my bio. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.) Yay we get to meet everyone! So this chapter was really hard for me to write. Probably because nothing much happened, but I needed to set up the Potter house and the Weasley clan before I can really get everyone moving on. So, sorry about that. However, next time we get Quidditch! Yay! **

Chapter 4:

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind for Silena. She met _everyone_; it seemed that the entire Potter/Weasley clan had come to meet her. First, as Neville led her inside, she was introduced to the Potter children. James, the eldest, was about thirteen, going into his third year at Hogwarts, and very tall and thin. His brown eyes had a mischievous sparkle to them that reminded Silena of her own. She recognized him immediately as a "kindred spirit" and knew he would be willing to get into all sorts of mischief with her. The second eldest, Al, was called from his room, which explained why James had stood out so much among his family. Al, who looked just like his father as well, was twelve and in his second year at the magic school. His green eyes, though bright, were softer, the green of a meadow of grass on a sweet spring day. He brought a sense of peace into the room and calmed the erratic family down a bit. Lily, the youngest, she had already met. The two girls were just the same age, and, although they had made each other's acquaintance only hours before, were already running around laughing like sisters.

The Weasley family ran together in a blur of red, brown, and blonde. Names stood out in Silena's mind: Rosie, a girl Al's age and in Ravenclaw with him, Hugo, a first year with Lily and herself, Victoire, a beautiful seventh year whose entrance into a room was unnoticed by no one, Fred and Roxanne, two Weasley's with impish looks on their faces, Dominique, Louis... The names went on and on. Silena was unsure of how she would ever keep all the members of this giant, ginger clan straight.

At last, Mama Weasley, as she was called, herded her children and grandchildren outside so the Potters could give Silena the "grand tour". The house was very quiet after the hustle and bustle of the vivacious family, and Silena stood silently, blushing bright red, in front of Professor Longbottom, her knapsack at her feet.

"I'm sorry, Silena, that must have been very confusing." Mr. Potter smiled knowingly at her. "I couldn't keep them all straight when I first met them, either, and at that time there were only seven children running rampage through the house." She only nodded silently in reply, suddenly overcome with shyness. Mrs. Potter, sensing her husband's confusion over what to do with the silent child (God knows when the last time _his_ children had been silent), walked over to the girl and knelt down in front of her. "I'm Mrs. Potter. May I show you where you'll be sleeping? It's a nice room, with a view of the meadow. You'll be sharing it with Lily. I'm sure the two of you will have lots of fun up there." She took Silena's bag gently and led her up the stairs, showing her to a room that was indeed facing the meadow. It was a bright, sunny yellow, with twin beds on either side of the window. A small dresser and a desk and chair were the only other furniture in the room, excluding the closet next to the door, but it was no less beautiful for the lack of pieces. Lily, who had followed the two females up the stairs, looked worriedly at Silena, trying to gauge how she liked it.

Still silent, Silena looked around the room with wonder. She could tell which bed was hers, for the other one had recently been slept in, and she was amazed at the light, iron bed frame and headboard, the lacy ruffle of the bedskirt, and the cream colored coverlet that adorned the twin bed. Everything was clean, and everything matched. Everything belonged.

"Is this... Am I really allowed to stay here? It's so beautiful!" She smiled around the room, her gaze finally alighting on the faces of the Potters. "Thank you, ma'am. Thank you very much."

"Well, go on, set your things on the bed and come wash up for dinner. And please, dear, don't address me as 'ma'am'. You may address me as 'Mrs. Potter' or 'Ginny', whichever you prefer. 'Ma'am' makes me feel so old." With that, the vibrant mother turned and trotted down the stairs, leaving her daughter and the orphan in the bright room.

Dinner was held outside, in the meadow. From there, Silena could see a tall grove of trees, and the edges of a soft lake in the background. She sat between James and Lily, surrounded by all the children, as the adults resided at the head of the table.

"Silena. Hmmm... That's much too important and grown-up sounding for a cute little girl like you. You need a nickname," James said abruptly during the meal. "How about... Blondie? No, that doesn't suit you..." He seemed to be lost in thought as he poked at the delicious mashed potatoes in front of him, stirring in his gravy. "I can't think of one right now. But the perfect name will come to me, and I'll let you know."

Silena was a little unsure of how to react to his sudden announcement, and the quest to find a nickname for her. Bemused, she looked to Albus for support, who suggested they call her Lena for short, at least until James found a better name.

They began to pepper her with questions, about the orphanage and the muggle world, but quickly changed topics as they realized that she refused to talk about her life at the orphanage, and she had been shut away from the world there anyways, so she didn't know much about it. Instead, they began to talk about Quidditch.

Lily's favorite team was something called the Holyhead Harpies, because her mum had flown with them for a few years before marrying her dad. James loved Puddlemere United, because Uncle Wood would always send them free merchandise, get them tickets, and take them to the team practices. He and Aunt Katie had both played on the team, until baby Roderick had arrived, and Wood received a few too many bludgers during his time. Now, as coach, he promised both James and Al seats whenever they wanted them.

As this conversation was flowing rapidly between the Potters and Weasleys, beginning to intensify into a debate over the quality of the Chudley Cannons, Silena leaned over to Albus, who was relatively silent about the entire thing. Hoping not to be heard by the rest of the kids, she whispered, "Al, what's Quidditch?"

"What's _Quidditch?!" _Hugo had heard her. "You don't know what Quidditch is?" he asked incredulously. Silena's face turned crimson.

"Of _course_ she doesn't know what Quidditch is, Hugo. She didn't even know she was a witch until this morning," Lily piped up from beside her.

"I'll explain it. I am on the team," James said pompously. "Quidditch is the best game there is. It's a sport played on broomsticks-"

"_Broomsticks?!"_

"Yes, broomsticks, and the Chaser tries to throw the Quaffle through these hoops-"

"What's a quaffle?"

"It's the ball. Anyways, you throw it through these hoops, and the keeper tries to block it. At the same time, you've got these Beaters hitting Bludgers at you-"

"What the hell is a _Bludger?"_

"-and the seeker is trying to find the Snitch." He finished, proud of his explanation.

"Why do you play on broomsticks? Is it a game to make sweeping easier and more fun?" Silena asked innocently.

James sighed. "How about we play a game tomorrow and we can show you how to fly?"

Silena nodded enthusiastically, extremely excited at the word _fly._ She didn't know what a Quaffle or a Snitch was, but flying sounded like _fun. _


	5. High Flight

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I would be rich and live in Hogwarts. Alas, I do not. **

**A/N: So I like to do this thing where Silena's thoughts talk to each other. It's a little like that concept of having an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. You'll be able to tell the difference; her thoughts are either in italics or bold. But those are her thoughts. **

**And another thing. I said I was going to update on Mondays. Well, I lied. Patience has never been my strong suit, and to be honest, I just needed to write this story. So, I will update AT LEAST once a week on Monday, but if I finish chapters in between I'll post them too. It depends on how much time I have. **

**Ok gremlins. That's all for now. Read, and please review. I'm feeling all alone... so all alone. _All by myself I'm all alone. _(Sorry couldn't help it. See what I mean about that reference thing?)**

**And away with Chapter 5!**

Chapter 5

The bright August rays woke Silena early the next morning. For a moment, she was confused and didn't remember where she was. Then, as she blinked away sleep, her eyes took in the sunny room and the twin bed across from hers, where a mop of red curls tumbled over a pillow.

_Oh, _Silena remembered. _I'm a witch. _She blinked sleepily again before her brain caught up to that realization and she bolted upright. "I'm a _witch_." A wide grin spread slowly across her face. She was different. Different enough that she didn't have to stay in the orphanage all year round. She wouldn't have to go back until next summer- _an entire year_, she realized. Life suddenly felt new and amazing.

Loud footsteps broke her reverie as someone bounced up the stairs. "Lily! Silena! Time to get up!" Mrs. Potter called from outside the doorway, knocking once before entering. Her daughter groaned and rolled over, mumbling something before dropping straight back into sleep. "Good morning, Silena. Breakfast will be ready soon. You may want to get ready quickly before the boys come down and eat all the food." She pointed towards a door down the hall. "The bathroom's right there. There's a basket of extra toiletries under the sink-help yourself." She smiled as the little blonde girl scampered out of the room.

By the time Silena and Lily were ready and downstairs, breakfast was ready and Harry was already at the table, reading the paper with a mug of tea in one hand. "You may want to hurry, Harry, it's almost 9. You need to get into work." Mrs. Potter picked up her husband's plate and gave him a little nudge to call his attention to the time.

"Right, thanks, Gin. Bye Lil, Silena," he kissed his daughter on the forehead and gave Silena an awkward pat on the head before turning to his wife and kissing her. "I'll see you this evening, love. Tell the boys I said bye when they finally stumble down here." He grabbed his wand from the table and headed out the door, disapparating after he passed the gate.

Silena and Lily had just returned to their breakfasts when a clatter arose on the stairs and the chatter of the two boys filled the air. "Smells delicious, mum. Bacon and eggs?" James bounced into the room, immediately zoning in on the full plate of food in the center of the table. "C'mon, Al, even Ravenclaws have to eat."

"Just because I'm not a Gryffindor-!" Albus started as his brother laughed manically and loaded his plate with food.

Breakfast was a noisy affair as soon as the boys joined them, with talk and laughter all around. The Potter siblings kept conversation merry, and had Silena laughing more than she had in her entire lifetime. After all the food was gone, James and Albus jumped up to grab their brooms. "Mum, we're going out to play Quidditch in the meadow."

"Help me clean the kitchen first. Then you and the girls can go play," Ginny responded, looking up from her book. She glanced to the kitchen, where, much to her surprise, a little girl was already doing the dishes. The plates she had washed were already sparkling clean; she was much better at dishes than the boys would ever be.

Somehow, amid the laugh and chatter, none of them had noticed Silena getting up from the table, collecting their plates, and heading into the kitchen by herself.

"I think I've figured out what you're nickname will be. You're like a little Brownie, Silena," James broke the shocked silence, startling Silena with his thoughtful statement. "Always quiet and helpful. That's what I'm going to call you. Brownie." He grinned impishly as she blushed with embarrassment. She hadn't meant to be caught. She was so used to doing all the dishes after the meals at the orphanage that she had just automatically gotten up and done them.

The silence lapsed again, growing more and more awkward by the second. Silena continued to scrub the dishes, looking anywhere but at the Potter family. Finally, after what seemed to be forever, Mrs. Potter broke the silence. "Thank you very much, Silena, for your help. Would you like to go play Quidditch with the boys now?"

Blushing, Silena nodded and followed the kids out of the room.

* * *

"Stand in front of it and say 'Up'. When you're successful, I'll show you how to mount it. It'll probably take you a few tries, but you'll get the hang of it." She and the Potters were standing in the middle of a grassy meadow, a nice distance away from the Potter house and the rest of Godric's Hollow. The nice thing about living on the edge of the small town was the access to the countryside beyond it. All they had to do was be careful of any wandering muggles and they wouldn't disturb a soul.

James was trying to teach Silena how to fly on his father's old Firebolt. While it wasn't the fastest broom anymore, it had been at one time, and was still an amazing broom to learn on. James, Lily, and Albus all had Nimbus Three Thousands, and the younger two Potter's were warming up together while James helped Lena.

"Alright, try it, Brownie."

She stood in front of the broom. Before she even said anything, it twitched. "Up." It flew into her hands, the jolt of the impact and the sudden power at her fingertips causing her to stumble back a step.

"Wow, Brownie, the broom responded to you quickly. Hmm... You may be a natural. Right, so to mount the broom, you climb on like this-" He showed her on his broom, and she followed suit, "Then you push up off the ground hard." He kicked off into the air, turning his broom around to watch her.

_Here goes nothing_, Silena thought as she pushed off from the ground as hard as she could.

Like a rocket, the broom beneath her shot into the sky, the handle thrumming with magic. Instinctively, she leaned forward and shot past James, heading towards Albus and Lily. _I'm flying! _The wind whistled through her hair, past her ears, seeming to whisper her name. She climbed higher into the sky, ignoring the shouts of the Potters below, higher and higher until the air got light. Then, and only then, did she allow the broom to drop, faster, faster, _faster, _before, at the last second, she pulled out of the dive and came to a stop in front of the astonished children.

"Where the _bloody hell_ did you learn to fly like that?!" James exclaimed.

"I don't know. I've never been on a broom before. I just... I followed my instinct and-" Lena paused, blushing again. Was she ever going to learn to do the right thing?

"That was bloody _amazing_ that was." James looked at her in awe. "You may be better than Dad. Maybe we can get McGonagall to make an exception for you and allow you to play on the team this year. That is, if you're accepted into Gryffindor."

* * *

After a long day of flying, learning the rules of Quidditch, and pretty much doing everything Ms. Benson would kill her for, Silena lay in her bed, looking up at the moon. She had never felt so happy before. She recalled the feeling of flying. It had been so... so _marvelous_. The feeling of the wind gliding past her, the speed with which the ground below her flew past, the feeling of power humming in her fingertips- it was exhilarating. She wanted to fly again.

_You saw where they keep the brooms. It's not a hard lock to pick. _

**Come one Lena, be smart. Would they really like you stealing their broomsticks? **

_It's not stealing if you return the broom. _

**Either way it's still not _right_. They might kick you out. Send you back to the orphanage. **

_But the feeling of flying..._

**Is it really worth the wrath of not only the Potters, but also of Ms. Benson when she realizes she's stuck with you again?**

_Yes._

**Fine! Ruin your life. See if I care. **

Her mental battle with herself complete (she liked to think of it as a battle between her First and Second Thoughts), Lena crept out of bed and across the room, being very quiet. She knew already at what point the door creaked, so she opened it a crack and slipped out of the room, not making a sound. She sleuthed her way down the steps, jumping over the fourth step to avoid the loud creak that always accompanied it. Within a minute she was outside, and, slipping on her shoes, making her way towards the broom shed.

Pulling a bobby pin from where she had slipped it in her hair for safekeeping, Lena picked the lock with ease. Entering the shed, she quietly picked up the Firebolt and headed back out, not noticing that one of the Nimbus's was already gone.

_See? Adventure. You haven't been caught yet. _

**Emphasis on** _**yet.**_

She ran all the way to the meadow, excited to be flying again. But when she got there, she realized she wasn't the only one with this idea. One of the Potter boys- she could only assume it was one of them because Lily had been sound asleep when she left- was flying high in the sky, his silhouette blocking out a myriad of stars as he flew through the air, coming to touch down in front of her.

"I thought you would be back."

It was James. Lena was suddenly a little nervous being caught with his father's broom in her hands by the eldest Potter boy.

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding... I just wanted to fly again."

"I was right, Brownie. You are a natural." A silence fell between them, as neither of them really knew what to do. Finally, James said, "I'll show you some moves if you like."

The moon was the only witness to the radiant joy that shone on the little girl's face for the first time in her life.


	6. The True Meaning of Awestruck

**Thanks to zzoe101, awesomeninja123, smplyme22, and FemGenjo Sanzo for the follows!**

**Thanks to FemGenjo Sanzo for the favorite! **

**Disclaimer: I am not the writing goddess. I can only hope she sent me to this earth to spread words and bring life. Also, the inscription on the doors of Gringotts was taken directly off the Harry Potter Wiki, which I have always found trustworthy, and is closer to me at the moment than my books. (The walk from my room to my living room seems sooooo long to go get Sorcerer's Stone...) So yea that's not mine either. **

Chapter 6:

Yawning with weariness (she and James had finally returned to the house around two in the morning), Lena sleepwalked to the table and began dishing out random food onto her plate, not really noticing what she was eating. As James blearily arrived at the table, acting similarly tired, Ginny watched her son and the elvin child and smiled. _So __James has found a friend to go flying with at night, has he? _She gently took the plate from the girl, who had placed the salt shaker, a stick of butter, and a cup of milk on it, removing these items quickly and filling it with actual food before placing it right back in front of her. She doubted Lena even noticed.

James just sat there, waiting for his mother to fill his plate with food. She obliged, with only a casual remark, saying "Late night, James? Lena?" He only grunted in reply, but Lena jumped, the statement seeming to startle her weariness from her. Immediately she tensed, as if waiting for some punishment.

"I know you took the brooms out last night. It's fine; just try not to stay out too late, alright? And don't wonder off too far." Another grunt from James, but Lena nodded, turning red with apparent shame. Ginny decided she would have to speak to the girl about it later and assure her that it really was alright.

* * *

**"**Lena, it really is fine that you took the broom out. Harry doesn't get to use it often anymore, and it's probably good the old thing gets some use." Ginny said as the little girl stood next to her, washing pans.

"So you really aren't mad at me?" Her small voice sounded as if she didn't really believe Ginny wouldn't get mad. _That poor girl, _Ginny thought. _That cruel woman from the orphanage probably scolded her if she spilt the salt. _Who knew what type of abuse Lena had faced at that place.

"I'm not. I actually used to do the same thing when I was your age. I have six older brothers you know- well, five actually-" A look of pain fluttered across the woman's face briefly, before it settled into its usual, light hearted glow, "-and they never allowed me on one of their brooms, so I would sneak out each night and ride a different one. That way they never could tell I had been riding on a certain broom, but I could still practice." She smiled as she recalled her flying practices in the dark. "They never did figure out how I had become so good. Hermione had to tell them one year."

Ginny looked down at the petite girl next to her, feeling slightly nostalgic for her own childhood.

"What I'm trying to say is, Lena, that that broom is yours to ride on whenever you need it. I understand the escape flying can give you. I saw you yesterday; you seem to be something of a natural. Don't feel like you have to sneak out and hide the fact you love to fly."

Lena took in this information and, nodding her thanks, left the room in quiet reflection.

* * *

A few weeks before the start of term, Harry managed to get a day off and they all went to Diagon Alley to purchase school supplies.

After stepping out of a fireplace, coughing like mad, Lena gasped and stopped in her tracks, stupidly. It was _amazing. _Everywhere there were people bustling about, purchasing potions ingredients, brooms, books, owls- it seemed like this one street held everything in the entire world. Lena's eyes couldn't take everything in and she had to blink several times to assure her brain it was real.

_You're standing in a magical street with BROOMS flying through it. How do the muggles not notice this?!_

**You're standing in front of a fireplace you just popped out of. Move before someone else exits and hits you!**

Before she could listen to her reasonable side, Albus popped out of the fireplace and lurched forward from the impact, straight into Lena. "Sorry, Lena. Here, let's move out of the way. Lily is on her way in. Where did James run off to?" The serious twelve-year old grabbed the girl's hand and led her, still gawking, to a little alcove off the side of the street, out of harm's way. Lily popped out of the fireplace next, followed by her parents, and they all proceeded to look around for James.

The boy, however, was no where to be found.

"Harry, did you hear him? Did he say 'Diagon Alley' clearly?" Ginny looked up and down the busy street with worry written across her face.

"I thought he did, but I was telling Silena what to do. I could be wrong. This isn't the first time he's travelled by floo though; I thought he would be fine." Harry looked as if the thought of James saying the name incorrectly was not the first thought that came to mind.

"'Arry, did you lose someone?" A loud voice boomed across the bustle of the crowd. Silena turned, and-

_Holy. CRAP. _

**Don't move. Movement attracts attention and-**

_Shut UP!_

Before her was the largest man Silena had ever seen. He stood over seven feet tall, and was wearing a gigantic brown overcoat. His black eyes were nestled above a massive amount of salt-and-pepper gray hair that seemed to be forming a mustache/beard sort of thing. Honestly, it all tangled together with the hair on his head as well, so Lena couldn't be quite sure where one started and the other stopped.

He made his way through the crowd to where the Potters were standing. Behind him, a large woman about his height followed along, dressed in the most fashionable robes Lena had ever seen. The man was dragging along a beet red, irritated looking James, whom he set down in front of his father with an extra little shake.

"Found your son lurking 'bout in Knockturn Alley. Might want ter keep an eye on 'im. 'e's worse than yer dad, yeh know." He chuckled, completely breaking the intimidating scowl he had had plastered onto his face moments before.

"Thanks, Hagrid. I thought I could send him on first, but…" Harry trailed off, regarding his son with disappointment. James turned a deeper red and went to stand next to his brother, ashamed. Or so it seemed. Lena saw him slip something small and black from his sleeve into his pocket. _The mischief maker strikes again, _she thought curiously.

"Right, well, I'll deal with you in a moment, James." His mother sent a glare towards her son, clearly not believing the muttered "got lost". She turned to her husband. "Where are we supposed to meet Ron and Hermione? Gringotts?"

Harry nodded and they set off for the end of the street, where a tall white building loomed imperiously. Lena was in awe of the majestic columns, the bronze doors that gleamed in the bright sun. She leaned over to Lily. "What are we getting from Gringotts?"

"It's where we keep our money. It's the safest place to keep anything-other than Hogwarts, that is. Dad can tell you all about it. He knows his way around Gringotts very well. He's got some great stories about it's security and all that."

"Is that because he's an Auror? Like wizard police?" Lena questioned innocently.

Lily only giggled in response, causing Lena to regard Harry curiously before she was once again distracted by the wizard bank.

* * *

The Weasley and Potter families having finally met up- according to Hermione Ron drove extremely slowly- they made their way through the front doors, coming to a second set, this time silver. Lena read the inscription on these new doors carefully:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_  
_Of what awaits the sin of greed_  
_For those who take, but do not earn,_  
_Must pay most dearly in their turn._  
_So if you seek beneath our floors_  
_A treasure that was never yours,_  
_Thief, you have been warned, beware_  
_Of finding more than treasure there._

"What's beneath the floor of the bank?" She inquired, rather nervously, of Harry.

"Something dangerous. Not something anyone really wants to encounter. Something we won't be disturbing today. Don't worry, you're safe." He smiled, and shared a slight grin with Ron and Hermione, as if something had happened involving that danger beneath the floors, and they weren't allowed to speak of it.

Still confused, Lena followed her new friends into the bank, ready to be struck dumb with awe for the second time in both that day and her life.

* * *

**A/N: I wish Ginny was my mum. And I normally won't update 3 days in a row, unless I'm REALLY bored and have nothing else to do, but I kinda had a shitty day, and sometimes, when you can't feel nice, you want to make other people feel nice so that at least SOMEONE can feel nice and you can decrease the level of suck in the world. (Go nerdfighters.) So feel nice. \**

**Next chapter she gets her wand, and, of course, you get all those other perks of a little muggle-born in Diagon Alley for the first time. Throw in the three kid Potters and you're bound to get something explosive and awesome right? But you gremlins must wait for that bit... Hee hee I feel so evil now. **

**Hope you enjoyed, and REVIEW! (Maybe if I get lots of reviews I'll update faster...) **

**~Melody**


	7. The Wand Chooses the Wizard

**Thanks to Lady Eleanor Boleyn for the favorite and follow!**

**Thanks to damon mason for the follow!**

**Lady Eleanor Boleyn: Since she ****_is _****half-human, she's going to have a lot of human characteristics. So far, I've really only mentioned her illusion abilities, but those will definitely grow. And when she gets to Hogwarts, some of her other abilities will become prominent as she starts interacting with all the normal witches and wizards of her age. I promise they'll come out soon. Glad you like the story!**

**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it belongs to someone else. If you don't, it belongs to me. That's the way the world spins. **

**A/N: Happy Monday, cyber gremlins! I was going to make this one a little longer, but I thought it was good to end at Ollivander's. Lena gets her wand this time! I put a bit of wandlore at the end of this chapter (I don't want to spoil anything right now). It's a bit long, so you don't have to read it unless you're interested. Though it does shed a bit of light on what type of people the characters will become. **

Chapter 7

Half an hour later, the Potters walked out of Gringotts with full pockets and happy smiles on their faces. Lena had stood in awe when she say the gold piled high in both the Potter's and Weasley's vaults. Harry had also stopped by the Hogwarts vault and withdrawn the money for her school supplies. It was the first time Lena had ever had anything to buy, and it was a bit of an odd feeling.

"Alright, Hugo, Lily, and Lena, you all need new robes for sure. Does anyone else need them?" Hermione turned to the gaggle of kids laughing and joking with each other. "Just James? Ok, you all come with me and Gin, and we'll stop by the Apothecary after to get supplies. Albus, Rosie, why don't you go with your fathers to get books? Then we can all meet up there and get the rest of everything." She briskly herded all the children into their respective groups, while Ron rolled his eyes.

"She's got to have _everything_ planned out, always. Bloody _mental!_" He muttered to Harry, quite fondly despite his mock annoyance.

"If I didn't plan for everything, Ronald, you wouldn't be able to figure out when to put your socks on," Hermione retorted, causing Ron to blush deep red as the kids cracked up, and Harry and Ginny tried not to join in.

"Right, right, well Al, Rosie, you come on with us. We'll get the books." He, Rosie, Albus, and Harry wandered off down the street, and the rest turned the other way to head over to Madame Malkin's.

* * *

"Oh, hello dears! I'll be right with you!" A sweet, young-looking witch glanced up from the hem she was working on, a mess of pins sticking from her mouth.

The boy, standing patiently as he was fitted for his robes, turned around to see who had just entered. He was tall, with white blond hair, and he looked to be about Rosie and Albus's age. He had warm brown eyes that didn't seem to match the rest of his snobbish look.

"Hey Scorp! How's it going? Good summer?" James waved at his friend, who smiled back and nodded his head, trying to respond to the wave.

"Good. How about you? Where's Rosie?" The boy glanced around, looking a little crestfallen that his best friend wasn't there.

"She's off with Al getting books. So you're the Malfoy she's been going on nonstop about?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Yes, ma'am." Scorpius looked a bit worried, no doubt recalling the stories his father had told him about the schoolyard grievances between this group and himself.

"Well, it's nice to finally officially meet you. I'm her mother, Ms. Granger." At his confused look, she added, "I kept my maiden name because there were far to many 'Mrs. Weasley's already. I would shake your hand but..." She nodded to the witch, who was just finishing up the hem of his new robes.

"There, sir! All done!" She waved her wand and the pins, measuring tape and thread all rolled itself up and stored itself neatly in its basket.

"It was nice meeting you, Ms. Granger. See you at the train, James. Tell Rosie and Albus I said hello," Scorpius added as he paid for his robes and left the shop.

Watching him go, Hermione turned to Ginny, musing "He was much nicer than his father. You know, I think Ron's grudge against him is petty. He's a good boy, and obviously a good friend of our children's." She shook her head, lapsing into her thoughts as the children were all fitted for robes.

* * *

After being fitted for robes, getting supplies, and making their way back to the Flourish and Blotts, the group of shoppers headed off to get the last thing on their list: wands.

Although not everyone needed one, the older kids were excited to watch the process as the younger set were chosen. Everyone remembered his or her own first wand, and it was always fun to watch. The family gathered outside the window of the shop as Harry took all the first years inside.

"Ah, Mr. Potter! Holly, eleven inches, phoenix feather. Best wand I've ever made or sold. It's done the best things, too." The ancient Mr. Ollivander turned his pale eyes on Harry, who smiled warmly at the old man.

"It's still working perfectly. I've actually got a group of first years who need to acquire wands. This is Hugo, Lily, and Lena," he said, pointing to each child in turn. Lena gave a slight dip of her head to the elder in greeting, eyes cast downwards.

"Hmmm... who'd like to go first?"

Lily was the first to jump forward. She tried many wands, finally smiling as a ten inch, hawthorn wand with unicorn hair sparked as she picked it up. "Ah, very nice. Supple, ready to learn. It fits you well, Miss Potter." The wandmaker smiled and handed her the wand.

"I want to go next!" Hugo bounced forwards, eager to begin the process.

His was not as long. The third wand he picked up-dragon heartstring, applewood, 9 and 3/4 length-sparked merrily as he grasped it within his fingers. "Dragon heartstring. A fast learner, made for intelligent wizards. Like your mother's wand. Very nice, Mr. Weasley," Ollivander commented as Hugo bounced back again, admiring his new wand.

"Ah, Miss..." The old man trailed off, realizing he had never gotten her last name.

"Ashington."

"Ashington? How odd..." The old man looked quizzically to Harry, who stood behind the little girl. He nodded affirmation, confirming the man's suspicions.

"Why is it odd, sir?" Lena piped up.

"Oh, I don't believe I've sold to an Ashington before. Well, even at my age there's a first for everything." The man smiled, and they began.

* * *

Lena tried wand after wand after wand but to no avail. Boxes crashed to the ground, the ladder flew across the shelves, the shop fell into utter disarray, but no wand would work for her. Hearstring, unicorn hair, even a phoenix hair wand: all were tried, and all denied her. Lena was nearly in tears from shame.

_Maybe they made a mistake. Maybe I'm not supposed to be a witch._

Mr. Ollivander, however, was not worried. "We'll find the perfect wand yet. Some customers just have a unique sort of magic. Let's try some... Apple? No, no that likes goody two shoes; you seem more of a mischievous girl to me. Hmm..." He browsed his shelves, scanning over wands and muttering.

Lena glanced behind her at the family gathered in the window. James was playing with a rubber ball that he was bouncing off the wall, but Hermione and Ginny were both watching intently. They nodded their encouragement as Ollivander came back into the room, holding a thin black box and wearing a serious look on his face.

"Harry let me look at a very old, very powerful wand one time-just to study it, of course-and I decided to experiment a bit with it. It had thestral hair as a core, which is an unusual but powerful substance. However it's very picky as to whom it chooses. I've not been able to sell it in the 20 years since I've made it. Perhaps, though, it's been waiting for an equally picky witch..." He opened the box to reveal a smooth, brown wand, quite plain in appearance. "Well, go on then."

Slowly, tentatively, Lena reached inside the box, gently lifting the wand. The moment she touched it, she could feel the thrumming of power beneath her fingertips, much like the feeling she had had when she first touched the Firebolt.

"Give it a wave," Mr. Ollivander prodded gently.

Taking a deep breath, Lena gave it the tiniest wave. No boxes flew out. No chairs smashed, no books flew across the room. Not even sparks flew. Instead, something entirely different happened.

Green beams of light began to swirl from the wand, forming a shape in the air. It was a tree. The tree sparkled for a moment as the lights in the shop flickered momentarily and a warm breeze seemed to blow through the shop.

"How very interesting. I wasn't sure of what the combination of chestnut wood and thestral hair would do. Eleven inches, slightly brittle. I expect this wand will help you become a talented witch, Miss Ashington." The wizened old wandmaker smiled at her, accepted his money from Harry for the wands, and bowed them all out of the shop.

* * *

**A/N II: Ok, so it took me a bit longer to write this chapter for a couple of reasons, one of which being I had to figure out what type of wands everyone would get! You may not realize this, but each core and each wand wood attracts a different type of wizard, or it specializes in different types of magic, like charms, or... you get the idea. So the wands in here are: **

**Lily's wand: 10", hawthorn, unicorn hair. Unicorn hair produces the most consistent magic. The hair is extremely faithful and is hard to turn to the dark arts. Hawthorn wands are best suited for healing magic, and are at home with paradoxical, conflicted people. (Aw poor Lily. She's gonna have a very conflicted stage at some point during this story). However, they also can only be handled by powerful wizards, and are not easy to master. So at least she's powerful, right? For those of you who are going "hem hem how do you expect to have a conflicting wood work with consistent core?", well Professor Umbridge, I think it's going to work really well because the core will keep the magic consistent and the wood will allow the flexibility of it. Just roll with it. **

**Hugo's wand: 9 3/4", applewood, dragon heartstring. Dragon heartstring is a powerful core, quick to learn, and capable of flamboyant spells. Apple suits best the wizard with high aims and ideals. It doesn't work with the Dark Arts. Owners of apple wands are often long-lived and well-loved, and often have great personal charm. Also, it is found that many owners have an unusual talent of conversing with magical beings in their natural tongue. Not sure where I'll go with that, but... **

**Lena's wand: Ok this one is the weirdest. 11", chestnut, with thestral hair. For those of you who don't know, the Elder wand has a core of thestral hair. The chestnut wood is attracted to people who are skilled at taming magical beasts, possess great gifts in herbology, and are natural fliers. It is also very flexible in personality, and takes on characteristics of its owner and core. The thestral hair is enigmatic, but it shows qualities of death, and is a very powerful substance. Combine this with the odd traits that will be emerging from the elvin blood in Lena, and I think I'm going to enjoy writing about the deeds of this wand... **

**Ok sorry for this long note. I just wanted to shed some light on the wand stuff.**

**Review! **


	8. Wrought-Iron

**Thanks to timelord1119 for the follows! **

**Thanks to Riverlily176 for the favorite!**

**Lady Eleanor Boleyn: Thanks for the review. I did my best to choose substances to fit the characters. I think I might bring this in a bit more later on with everyone else's wands. We'll see. But seriously, Harry Potter Wiki for wandlore is the best.**

**Guest Review on Chapter 3: Haha yea, Lemon Drop was for fun. The reason everything is paid for is because she's an orphan and doesn't have a family to pay for anything. Special case scenario. Because I'm pretty sure Hogwarts has a fund for that kind of stuff. Unfortunately, the Weasley's work so... while they are poor, they get by. Now I've got to go read that last sentence again... Let me know when you catch up to the rest of us! Thanks for the review!**

Chapter 8

The two weeks before term started flew by quickly for the children as they played games of Quidditch, taught Lena Gobstones, visited their cousins, and ultimately had an amazing time. Finally, September 1st arrived.

"Come on Lily! We're going to be late!" Al yelled up the stairs as everyone waited on the youngest Potter.

Finally, everyone managed to climb into the Potter's car, fitting into the magically enlarged back seat very nicely. Harry and Ginny were in front with Albus, and James, Lily, and Lena squished into the back with their four owls.

As they drove into London, Lena admired the bird sitting in her lap.

After she had received her wand, Harry had taken her and Lily into the Owl Emporium. He had said it was a bit of a tradition for their kids to get an owl in their first year of Hogwarts, and he wanted to include Lena as well. It was the first gift anyone had ever given her.

He had told her to pick a bird, any bird, to be her own. She had wandered through the shop, looking at snowy owls, tawny, spectacled owls, and every other kind. Lily quickly picked out a beautiful hoot owl, whom she promptly named Caspian.

But Lena hadn't been able to choose. They all seemed to gaudy, or too aloof. No one spoke to her.

Then, she had heard a soft hooting amid the din. A low note, a little call that seemed to be saying, _hello._ Compared to the screeches and hoots of all the other owls, it wasn't much. But it was musical, and caught something in her ear, causing her to turn around towards the owl.

"Hello." She was staring at a beautiful, tawny-colored barn owl. It's eyes looked into her soul, and it seemed to be telling her something.

"You want me to take you with me, don't you?"

The tawny owl blinked.

"You're a beautiful bird,"Lena mused. "May I have this one, Mr. Potter?" She turned towards Harry, who smiled, having witnessed the entire connection.

"Of course, Silena." He had paid the woman and handed her the bird, introducing her to a new type of friendship.

* * *

"Lena? You ok?" Lily looked where her best friend was staring off into space.

"Yea, I'm just thinking." She looked back across at her owl, whom she had christened "Nilde" (an elven word for 'friend' according to Hermione, she had liked the sound of it), and sighed a bit nervously.

"Worried you won't be in Gryffindor, are you?" James broke the tense silence.

"I'll be in Gryffindor!" Lily said resolutely. Lena simply looked back at him with an uncertain look on her face.

"I'm not really sure what to think, to be honest," she admitted quietly.

"I hope you'll be a Gryffindor." He smiled at her, his thirteen year old mind eased with thinking he had comforted her.

Lena faked a smile in return and stared out the window of the car, spending the rest of the trip in silence.

* * *

"Right, kids, the barrier's this way! Lena, it's going to be a bit weird, but you're going to run straight at a wall. You won't smash into it, but it may help if you take it at a run and close your eyes."

They were heading towards Platforms 9 and 10. Up ahead, through the throng of people, they caught sight of a barrier. Well, Lena assumed it was "the barrier", because all she saw was a gate.

"Mr. Potter?" She dropped back to talk to him, hoping to avoid showing her naivite to her friends. "Why is there a gate in the middle of the platform? Don't the muggles notice it?"

He looked at her in shock. "You don't see the brick wall?"

"No, I see an open, wrought-iron gate. But the muggles walk past it like it isn't even there."

He was silent for a moment. "I'm not sure why you can see it but no one else can, but don't tell anyone about this just yet. If you see other weird things, ask Professor Longbottom when you get to school or write me, all right?"

Lena nodded, feeling like she had done something wrong.

"It's all right to be able to do special things, Lena. You just need to learn more about what you can do before you tell other people. I don't want someone manipulating you into doing something you don't want to do because they want your abilities."

"My abilities to see through the brick wall?" She pointed out skeptically.

"My theory is, that since we don't know who your parents are, and you can see through the magic on the brick wall, you may be able to see through other illusion charms. That could become useful to someone."

"Harry! Does it really take you that long to explain the concept of the barrier to her?" Ginny called as she sent her children through the gate with their trunks.

"Coming, Gin!" He turned back to Lena. "Remember what I said."

Then, turning, the two of them ran at the wall (or, in Lena's case, the gate) and went gliding into the darkness.

* * *

**A/N: Right, so I know this one is short (and I've been absent a bit) but I've been really busy. One of my friends' birthday is coming up, so all my free time has gone towards an awesome birthday gift I've been making her. **

**Also, I will not be updating tomorrow. I will be taking the day off from life. At Disneyland. So yea, I won't have any time to write. You might get something on Saturday; it depends on how tired I am. **

**I wanted to write more for this, but I also wanted to put the train journey all in one and I thought that might get a little long. Read, Review and Enjoy, gremlins!**


	9. Pre-Sorting Jitters

**Infinitybacon: Thanks for the follow! Also, cool name. An infinite amount of bacon sounds like heaven... **

**Shiranai Atsune:**** I THINK that you are reading this one (I also have another fanfic in progress) but thanks for the author follow!**

**A/N: Sorry for not updating much recently... I'll be honest, I kinda started watching the Star Wars movies and couldn't stop. Let's just say I'm not happy with Anakin right now. He needs to go die in a hole. **

Chapter 9

As everyone else hurried on, Lena turned back for a last glimpse of the muggle world. The gate still stood open, and she could see through it to the world passing by. It was odd how simple and easy their lives were: they hurried past from train to train without a thought to anything but where they were going.

"It's a bit weird how, on this side, we can see the gate, isn't it? We're watching them and they don't even know it." She turned towards Albus, who had noticed her stop and was waiting patiently.

"They all know where they're going. It must be nice." She fell into step next to him as the two followed the rest of the family.

"We know where we're going. We're going to Hogwarts." He smiled at her with such ease and confidence, it was clear he knew exactly where he belonged.

"Right. Of course," she mumbled uncertainly as they caught up to the others.

* * *

The magnificent scarlet train was huge and filled the station with steam, making everything seem ghostly. Lena stayed close to Lily as the girl went in search of her cousins. "Rosie! Hugo!" she shouted as she spotted the family.

"Hey Hugo, you excited for sorting! We're finally going to Hogwarts!" The two kids bounced up and down, talking rapidly about what was to come.

Hermione came and stood next to Lena. "Are you excited to be going to school, Lena?" The kind woman smiled down at her, sensing the nervousness radiating off the girl in droves.

"I'm..." She started to lie and say she was fine, but something in this woman's eyes made her stop.

"What if I don't belong? I'm scared." She whispered softly, not really wanting to admit it.

Hermione knelt down to look the small girl straight in the eyes.

" Silena Ashington, Hogwarts has a place for everyone. I remember when I first came I was scared no one would accept me because I was a muggle born, but no one cared about that, aside from a few of the Slytherins. It's a wonderful school, and Professor McGonagall wouldn't have sent you a letter if you didn't belong."

Lena nodded, feeling a bit better.

"Now, children, you best be getting on the train. You'll want to make sure you get a compartment!" Hermione stood and began herding her children, along with Lena and Lily, back to where the Potter's had joined the rest of the Weasleys.

* * *

"Good-bye! We'll miss you!" Ginny and Hermione waved with tears in their eyes as the train began to chug slowly out of the station. Harry and Ron were a bit more stoic, waving as well, but relatively calm. Lena saw a young man with bright blue hair blow a kiss to Victoire, who, a few compartments down from theirs, blushed and pretended to catch it.

"Lily, who was that?" She asked as the kids sat back down in their seats.

"Who are you talking about?" She responded distractedly as she rummaged through her trunk for the latest edition of the Quibbler.

"The boy with the bright blue hair. The one who blew a kiss to Victoire." He had had the most peculiar look on his face, one she had never seen before.

Lily giggled. "That's Teddy Lupin. He's Daddy's godson. He graduated a few years ago, and now he has a job in the Auror office. He's madly in love with Victoire. They've been dating for a while, and everyone is hoping they'll get married soon."

So that was it. Love. His face had shown how much he loved her.

Lena couldn't help but hope that one day, a boy would look at her like that.

* * *

The journey lasted all day. Hugo, Lily, and Lena stayed in the same compartment, occasionally joined by others. Halfway through, their cousin Lucy joined them.

She was a prim girl, with bright red hair like the rest of them. Hers, however, fell in tight ringlets down to her shoulders. She had black cat eyed glasses that framed her blue eyes.

"Hello, Lily, Hugo." She flounced into the seat next to Hugo and looked down her nose at Lena.

"You must be that orphan girl Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny took in. I'm Lucy. You are?" The presumptuous little girl held out her hand for Lena to take.

"Silena Ashington. Are you a first year as well?" She shook the girl's hand, cocking her head with curiosity.

"Don't immediately assume such things! It's not very well-mannered to ask a woman her age." The girl turned away with a dramatic sigh.

"Oh, bugger off, Luce, she's only being nice. Stop your antics and go bug someone else. We only hang out with the cool first years." James said from the doorway, having entered just in time to hear her latest comment.

With a pert _hmph!_ the girl stalked out of the compartment.

"She's going to be the first Weasley ever to be in Slytherin if she isn't careful. Uncle Percy would faint. You know he still feels bad about siding with the Ministry during the war, even though no one blames him for it anymore." James settled into the seat Lucy had just vacated. "She bothering you too much, Brownie?"

Lily rolled her eyes at his use of Lena's new nickname. "It's not going to stick, James. Just stop trying." She stuck her nose back into the Quibbler and removed herself from the conversation.

In response, James stuck his tongue out at the red crop just visible above the magazine. "I like it, and that's what matters." He sighed when his sister gave no response. "Anyone for a game of Exploding Snap?"

* * *

Finally, after several games of Exploding Snap that only ended when Lily forced James from the compartment when the explosions set her magazine on fire for the fifth time, as well as multiple chocolate frogs, every flavored beans, licorice wands, and a variety of sweets that Lena had never tasted before in her life, the prefects started coming around, announcing the approaching arrival of the train.

"Right, then sis, Brownie, Huggy-"

"Hey! It's _Hugo!_"

"Well, _Hugo_, you come with me and give the girls some privacy. We all need to change into our robes." He opened the door and dragged his cousin out of the room to allow the girls to change in peace.

After changing, they called the boys back in (this time Rosie and Albus joined them) and the discussion turned towards the Welcoming Feast and, more importantly, the Sorting.

"What's the Sorting like?" Hugo asked imploringly of the three older kids.

"Well, first off you need to pass the test. There's a great, big dragon-"

"James, please, don't frighten them!" Rosie interjected as her brother turned pale.

"Alright, fine, there isn't a dragon, but you've got to cross the lake safely to get to the Sorting. That's the first test."

"How do we pass the lake test?" Hugo was hanging on to every word James said, ignoring Lily's silent laughter.

"Well, I can't tell you, that's part of the test, you see, depending on how you react will help show which House you'll be in. But I will give you a hint: watch out for the giant squid. He can be kind of sneaky."

Lena knew from Lily's laughter that what James was saying wasn't true, but she still felt a pang of fear. _Giant squid?_ That didn't sound good. She wasn't sure if she could pass the test.

Hugo was about to ask James some other ridiculous question about the test when they heard the brakes squeal and felt the train begin to slow down.

"We're here. Don't worry, Hugo, Hagrid accompanies you across the lake, you'll be safe. He'll make sure no one is hurt." Rosie began assuring her brother as the five students began lifting their trunks off the racks.

"Here you go, Brownie." James said with a wink as he handed the girl's trunk to her. With a small thanks, she tried to express her extreme gratitude, for she was worried she would have to stand on top of the bench to get it. In front of Lily and Hugo, who were both too short to reach the racks as well, it hadn't been a problem, but in front of the older students it only seemed to point out how young she was.

Climbing down the steps onto the platform, Lena stuck close to Lily and Hugo, and the three began following the others.

"Oh, no you guys have to go down to the lake. We take the carriages up to the school. See ya guys after your Sorting! Don't get eaten by the giant squid!" With a maniacal laugh, James ran off into the crowd, forcing Albus and Rosie to follow or be left behind.

Lily watched him go, looking, for the first time in the entire journey, slightly sick. Lena realized that with her brothers, she was fine and didn't worry, but on her own, she had begun to realize how nervous she really was.

"Come on," she said abruptly, shaking the nervous look off her face. "Let's go find Hagrid."

* * *

**I have a question. So I haven't figured out whether I want Lucy Weasley to be a Gryffindor or a Slytherin: It's obvious she's snobby, but I don't want to make her too snobby, more like a young Percy, who acted like he had the bloody Eiffel Tower up his arse. However, there's also the fun situation of possibly having at least one Weasley in each House. (Someone might end up in Hufflepuff, I'm still deciding). But she's definitely no Hufflepuff, and I don't think she's going to be quite smart enough for Ravenclaw, soo... Yea review or PM me with a suggestion; I could really use the help!**

**Next chapter will involve the Sorting. Oh, James is such a trickster... I was going to include more tall tales for him to spin, but I didn't want to make this too long. And I haven't exactly finished my homework... procrastination is alive and well. He'll just have to find another time to troll people. **

**Thanks for reading, gremlins! Enjoy! Review! **

**~Melody**


	10. A First for Everything

**A/N: To make up for my long absences this week, I'm updating twice in a row.**

**Edit as of 3/7/14: I changed Dom to Ravenclaw. She just fits better there... It doesn't really change anything of the chapter, but so y'all know. **

Chapter 10

The small boats were surprisingly solid beneath the four children who had clambered inside. Lena, Hugo and Lily had been joined by Lucy, who promptly turned away from them, ignoring the nervous chatter that lasted for the first few minutes of the ride. But soon, even the most talkative of the bunch fell prey to the tense silence as the first years followed Hagrid's boat.

They were rounding a bend, and Lena's heart thumped painfully in her chest. She was deathly afraid of the water-she didn't know how to swim. If she fell in, she was afraid that would be the end of her.

However, as soon as she caught sight of the magnificent castle atop the hill, all worries flew from her mind as her jaw dropped in awe.

"Oh, it's even more amazing than Al described it!" Lily gasped with wonder, the lights from the windows sparkling in her eyes. The four children, Lucy included, gaped as they stared up at the castle.

For it truly was magnificent. It's tall spires cut into the ink black sky like a knife through butter, and the very top seemed to stab into the stars, saying, "I belong in the heavens". The children with the best eyesight, Lena included, could just pick out the carriages that were heading up the drive, dumping the older passengers before the doors to the front gate. The stars sparkled on the lake, their images dancing across the water as the ripples from the moving boats reached them. The rocky cliffs fell straight down to the water's edge.

The boats drifted slowly towards a curtain of ivy hanging across the sheet of rock. "Are we going to crash?!" The hint of panic was back in Lena's voice as she leaned over to whisper to Lily.

"Of _course_ not; we aren't going to crash. That's the entrance to the tunnels. It's a secret entrance to the castle that only the first years get to use; my father told me." Lucy loudly interjected, puffing her chest with arrogance.

They passed through the leafy curtain, which dimmed the light of the moon and darkened the entire cave. Lena was suddenly very glad for the lantern swinging from the bow of the boat.

"A'right, firs' years. Professor Longbottom will be waiting for ye at the beach. Follow 'im up to the Great Hall, where yeh will be sorted," Hagrid's loud voice called, breaking the magical silence.

They all clambered from their boats and rushed toward the lone man standing at the head of the rocky beach, up by a door leading to a tunnel.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years. If you will please follow me, I will lead you to the Antechamber, where you will wait until we are ready for your sorting."

He turned swiftly and led the way up a flight of stairs, coming out into a nice sized room. He motioned to some seats. "Feel free to sit while you are waiting.

He turned and left the room. As soon as he was gone, there was a general rush for the seats, and a noisy clatter as the first years started to discuss their arrival.

"The view of the castle was amazing-"

"Mum and Dad are hoping I'm put in Ravenclaw-"

"I'll be in Slytherin; my whole family's been there-"

Lily, Hugo and Lena sat down on a small couch and waited patiently for Professor Longbottom's return. The nerves in the room were too much to instigate a very good conversation, so they wisely remained quiet in order to collect themselves in preparation for the upcoming Sorting.

"What house do _you _think _you're_ going to be in, Silena? _I__'m _hoping to be in either Ravenclaw or Slytherin- my mum was a Ravenclaw. And my grandmum was a Slytherin."

"You don't want to be in Gryffindor with most of the family, Luce?" Hugo asked, wide-eyed. While the Weasley's were spread among the houses now, no one had ever really expressed interest in going outside of Gryffindor, unless it was a slight interest in Ravenclaw. While they enjoyed themselves once they were placed, they hadn't outright wished for it. And no one had ever wished to be put into Slytherin.

"I spend enough time with family members; I want to be somewhere new. Where there isn't someone who came before me to be compared to," Lucy sighed, sounding, for the first time since Lena had met her, absolutely sincere. "I want to be the first for once in my life."

"I understand, Luce," Lily said softly, "And if you are in Slytherin, we'll still love you. There's nothing wrong with the house. Bad wizards who come from Slytherin just give it a bad reputation." She smiled at her cousin to reassure her.

"Alright, first years, prepare for your Sorting! Follow me!" The Professor had returned, and, with a small wink to the four first years in the corner, led them all to the biggest test of their lives.

* * *

As they entered the hall, Lena could feel hundreds of eyes staring at the group, and she huddled next to Lily slightly. It was bad enough she had to complete some sort of task, but she also had to do it in front of all these other students? What if she failed miserably.

The kids in front saw the stool, and the hat first. The whispers were passed back rapidly.

"_It's a _hat_."_

_"What do we have to do, fight it?" _

_"I wouldn't be too surprised if they had us mend it; it looks ridiculously old to me."_

_"My brother said we had to try it on." _

With a silencing look from Neville, the students turned towards the hat, who opened a gash in it's brim and began to sing.

_The world has lived in easy peace_

_For twenty years today. _

_The houses once divided, _

_Stand strong again, they say._

_Slytherins and Gryffindors_

_sitting side by side. _

_Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws _

_regarding them with pride. _

_The fresh, young faces, _

_standing in this hall, _

_are ready for their paces, _

_are ready to stand tall. _

_To Gryffindor the bravest go, _

_Ready to face their test. _

_Ravenclaws will always know, _

_how to do their best. _

_Hufflepuffs are good and kind, _

_ready with a helping hand, _

_And Slytherins, the great of mind, _

_complete this merry band_

_And so the four Houses, _

_once standing in divide, _

_have come together, once again. _

_Fighting side by side. _

_And though they stand together, _

_They must be split within, _

_but they stand through all weather, _

_so let the Sorting now begin. _

The hall sat in silence for a moment. Then, as it was clear the Hat was done with it's song, the crowd burst into applause. As it died down, Professor Longbottom pulled a long scroll from within his robes and began to call the names.

"Abbott, Katie". He smiled at his niece as she climbed the stairs and settled on the stool. Within moments, the hat had shouted out "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Addams, Joshua" went to Slytherin, "Arden, Matthew" went to Gryffindor, and then-

"Ashington, Silena". With a final squeeze of the hand from Lily, Lena pushed through the crowd and climbed the steps.

Just before the hat slipped down over her eyes, she caught a glimpse of James' wide smile from the Gryffindor, and Albus' thumbs up from Ravenclaw. Then, the light was shut out as the hat slipped over her eyes.

"Ahhh... Well you're an interesting one..." The Sorting Hat muttered in her ear.

"Kind, and considerate, so you would do well in Hufflepuff. But you're extremely clever; you would do well in Ravenclaw as well. But there's mischief in you.. and... How odd. I haven't seen one of _your_ kind in a long time."

_My kind? _But the Sorting Hat ignored her query, and continued on with his observations.

" You've a cunning drive to survive... You would do well wherever I put you. So... where shall it be?"

_Gryffindor. Please be Gryffindor. _

"You want to be a Gryffindor? Your ancestors would approve... Brave warriors come from Gryffindor. Well then, I'll oblige. It better be... GRYFFINDOR!"

The loud cheering filled the room as the hat was lifted off Lena's head and the light filled her eyes again. She hopped off the stool and ran down to the Gryffindor table, where James motioned to a seat between him and another red-headed, mischievous looking boy. Clambering onto the bench, she turned towards him with a silent question in her eyes.

"Fred Weasley. I'm a fourth year. You must be Brownie. James already filled me in," he added with a wink, as Lena turned towards James with an exasperated look.

"You're really not going to let me forget that, are you?"

He winked. "Nope."

Laughing softly, Lena turned back to the Sorting.

* * *

Finally, after many names such as "Bletchly, Mitchell", "Bones, Amelia", and "McMillan, Tabitha", they got into the P's.

"Parkinson, Madison" was sorted into Slytherin, "Patil, Ismae" into Ravenclaw, and finally,

"Potter, Lily" was called, and she stepped up to the stool.

Lena and James sat in their seats with baited breath as the seconds dragged on and Lily still sat on the stool. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Sorting Hat shouted out "GRYFFINDOR!" and Lily leapt of the stool, running down to slip between her brother and her best friend.

"Now we just need Hugo, and everything will be perfect!" She whispered excitedly as the names were called one by one.

The two girls watched Hugo closely as the group in the center got smaller and smaller. He grew pale and clammy with each name called, and each student sorted. Finally, there were only four students left, and he was called up.

"Weasley, Hugo." Slowly, his legs trembling with fear, Hugo mounted the stairs and sat on the stool.

"He's scared stiff, poor fellow," James whispered quietly, watching his cousin intently.

Silence. Then, as the roar of the silence reached a climax, the brim of the hat opened wide to shout, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

James and Lily looked at each other, wide eyed, then looked to where Hugo was skipping down to where his cousin Louis was sitting.

"He looks really happy, James. I think he wanted this," Lily said in awe, before she started grinning and clapping with the rest of them.

"Weasley, Lucy".

The name cut through the applause and quieted the Weasley section of the Gryffindor table. Everyone watched as the red-headed girl mounted the stairs regally, holding her head high, curls bouncing slightly.

She sat daintily on the stool, crossed her ankles, and waited for the Sorting Hat to speak its mind.

The hat had been on her head for all of two seconds before it shouted out "SLYTHERIN!"

"Well," James muttered as he watched his young cousin saunter over to the Slytherin table. "I guess there's a first for everything."

* * *

**Ok, so now that everyone has been sorted, I'll give you a quick list so you know where everyone is at this point. **

**Victoire: Gryffindor, 17**

**Dominique: Ravenclaw, 15**

**Fred: Gryffindor, 14**

**James: Gryffindor, 13**

**Louis: Hufflepuff, 13**

**Roxanne: Gryffindor, 13**

**Albus: Ravenclaw, 12**

**Rose: Ravenclaw, 12**

**Scorpius: Ravenclaw, 12**

**Molly: Gryffindor, 12**

**Lily: Gryffindor, 11**

**Hugo: Hufflepuff, 11**

**Lucy: Slytherin, 11**

**Lena: Gryffindor, 11**

**I think these are all the kids. I know there are a lot, so just to keep things from getting too confused, you can refer back to that. **

**Read and Review, gremlins!**


	11. The Fireside Chats

**A/N: No reviews... I feel so alone. Ok, so quick not: I am NOT STEREOTYPING British orphanages. This is just one cruel person who happens to have more power than she deserves. And that's all I will say on that.**

**On a side note, I spent the last couple of days writing a literary analysis essay for my English teacher, and it was supposed to be 4 to 5 pages. And, when looking at the word count for that, I realized it's about the same length as this chapter. Thought it's also double spaced but... Wow. It took me at least four hours to write that paper, but it only takes me about an hour to write these chapters (when I'm on a roll). I guess it's really hard to write something you really don't care about. (Also, anyone get the reference of the chapter title?)**

**I don't own JKR stuff, never have, never will, but I do own my own characters! Some of whom are being introduced in this chapter. **

**Review, please! **

Chapter 11

The Welcome Feast was glorious. Lena had never seen so much food in her life. Even after her two weeks at the Potters, where she had access to enough food for once in her short life, she was still amazed at the idea of eating until you were full.

The table around her was filled with laughter and chatter as the older students caught up with their friends and peppered the first years with questions. Lena learned that Fred was the son of George, the trickster of the family, who owned a joke shop. They regaled her with tales of the many pranks he and James had pulled throughout their years at Hogwarts. Although she had heard them many times before, Lily sat with peaked interest, listening to their tales and jumping in when they left out any minor detail.

Roxanne, Fred's younger sister, was also a Gryffindor, but she was more serious than her brother. She must have taken after her mother, for she did not share the genetic red hair of the hectic family she had been born into. Although she had an easygoing, graceful way about her, she was a serious girl who was accustomed to keeping her older brother in check.

It seemed like only moments before all the plates were cleared of the last crumbs of dessert, and Lena felt her brain start to slip into a food coma. The Headmistress, Professor McGonagall, stood and glanced around the room at the subdued students.

"Since I know none of you will listen to me anyways, I'm just going to send you off to bed with only a wish that you enjoy the last night in a while that you are free from work. Your Heads of Houses will pass out your schedules tomorrow during breakfast. Now, off to bed with you!" She clapped her hands authoritatively, causing the prefects to leap into action, calling "First years! Follow us! We'll show you to the common room!" The general din of shuffling benches quickly died as all the kids rushed off to the soft, four poster beds awaiting them.

* * *

"The girl's dormitory is on the right, boy's on the left. The first year dorms are on the first level. Classes start at 9 tomorrow so don't stay up too late!" The Gryffindor prefect called to them as the first years rushed to view their new living quarters. Lena and Lily followed the other three girls into the dorm, taking in the red brocade curtains and tall four poster beds with wide eyes.

"Look! We've got our own bathroom! And it has multiple sinks! This is going to be so much fun!" A petite brunette bounced about the dorm, exploring everything in the circular room.

"I'm Josie, by the way. Josie Mclean. Who are all of you?" She turned her warm brown eyes on each girl, waiting for a response.

"Mary Harrods," the first girl said, stepping bravely up to make introductions. She tossed her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder and stuck her hand out. "Nice to meet you, Josie."

Emboldened by Mary's advancement, Lily and Lena quickly made introductions as well, then turned to the fifth girl in the dorm. She was small, like many of the first years, and quiet, very obviously shy.

"What's your name?" Lena asked quietly, trying to infuse her voice with acceptance.

"M-Mia. Mia Wilson." She stood shyly, not quite meeting anyone's eyes.

"It's nice to meet you, Mia. I think we're going to have great fun in here, aren't we?" Lily cocked her hip and smiled a saucy smile at the rest of the girls. "Let's get to bed so we can start planning our mischief tomorrow."

With a wide smile, and her heart full of the excitement over this new chapter in her life, Lena climbed into her gigantic, four poster bed, and drifted off into pleasant dreams.

* * *

_Her heartbeat was loud in her ears. Mrs. Benson stood before her, her ruler smacking ominously against her hand. "Never disobey your teacher. They may punish you for it." _

_"_Please... don't..."

"_But you deserve it. I told you not to leave your room. You did anyways."_

"I was starving, miss..."

_"I don't care!" _

Lena jolted awake just in time. Breathing heavily, she glanced around at the quiet dorm room, briefly confused at her location.

_Right, I'm at Hogwarts. _

The heavy blankets that were comforting moments before suddenly seemed constricting, and she climbed out of them in a desperate search for fresh air. Wrapping herself in the fluffy red robe she had found amongst her new Gryffindor uniform, she slipped from the dorm room and padded downstairs.

The clock on the wall read 12:50.

_Great, I'll be exhausted for the first days lessons. _

Sighing, she sank to the floor in front of the remnants of the fire, staring moodily into the embers. She hated how, even far away from the orphanage, the terrors of Mrs. Benson still haunted her. Though it had been awhile since the spinster had been able to catch her red-handed, she was still extremely suspicious of the girl and would try to find a way to blame her for everything that went wrong.

Lost in thought, Lena almost didn't hear the portrait hole open. But with a small _clunk!_ of someone tripping over a table leg, along with a hissed _"Merlins pants!", _her thoughts were ripped from her past and forced into the present. She shot to her feet and looked across the room, finding a shocked James Potter staring at her, motionless, through a shimmery sort of cloth.

Neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke. James wasn't sure if she saw him. Lena wasn't sure what the hell he was doing out so late at night. Finally, after a few moments, James decided to take a chance and began to creep towards the boys' dormitory silently.

"Aren't you going to at least say goodnight?" Lena huffed after him, annoyed that not only had he broken her peace but also had proceeded to attempt to leave without even acknowledging her.

James froze. "You can see me?" He asked slowly, turning around to face her.

"Of course I can! You're walking around with just some shimmery thing on you! What is that, anyways?" She stepped forward a bit curiously.

"Brownie, I'm wearing an invisibility cloak... You shouldn't be able to see me."

* * *

"So... this Mrs. Benson woman, she would hit you when you were at the orphanage?" They were still sitting on the floor of the common room. Lena was teaching him a muggle card game called "Ratslap", and the Quidditch player in him was enjoying it immensely. The wizard in him was disappointed slightly by the lack of explosions.

"When I was doing something wrong, yes. Most of the time she told me what a nuisance I was, and how I was a freak, and a danger to the other kids. She liked to blame me for things, because she never could figure out how I could get away with so much. I think she knew somehow I was involved in all the mischief, but she couldn't prove my involvement. So she took it out on me wherever she could."

He lunged for a slap, narrowly missing it as she swooped in and slapped first.

"Did you ever try to fight back?" He asked as they started throwing down cards again.

"She's a grown woman, and tall and strong to boot. Also, she has nothing to lose. The younger ones at the orphanage depended on me to steal food for them sometimes. There would be nights when she would get drunk and order the other caretakers not to do anything."

"And they just obeyed this?" He asked incredulously.

"They were too scared of her not to," she shrugged simply.

The two played in silence for a moment, then James asked, "Does she know the truth? About you and your magic?"

"No. She's a muggle. I doubt she would have allowed me to come if she had known."

He nodded, looking happy over this small tidbit of good news, and they fell into silence once more.

"I do wish I could write to Owen and Katherine, though. I'm scared no one will take care of them now that I'm gone," Lena offered up suddenly,

"Who are Owen and Katherine?"

"They're these two orphans, a brother and a sister. They're two of the few actually blood siblings of us all. Owen's only four, and Katherine's three, and I've been looking after them ever since they came. I want to write, but there's no way to put a letter in the muggle post for them, and besides, Mrs. Benson wouldn't let them have it. And sending Nildhe would be too odd..."

"What do they know about the school?" James asked, looking as if a plan were beginning to formulate in his mind.

"Only that it's a school for special kids. One that's taking me far away from them," she added sadly, remembering the tearful goodbyes.

"Well, simply tell them that the school offers this great owl training program, and they've trained the owls to deliver letters. They're four, and even the older kids will probably believe it if you sell it well enough."

Lena smiled as she collected the center pile of cards. 'That's a great idea, James. Thanks a lot. Now, I do believe I've won." She smiled as he lay down his last card.

"You've been distracting me; we'll have to have a rematch. Will you be able to go back to sleep?" They glanced up at the clock. 3:30. They'd talked longer than she'd thought.

"Yea, I think I'll be fine. Thanks a lot, James." He smiled in return, grabbed the cloak from the couch, and sauntered up the stairs of the boys' dormitory.


	12. Helga Hufflepuff

**Ok, so this is going to be my first chapter NOT in Lena's point of view. Though it won't be the last. I'm just warning you for this one; in the future, I'm going to let you guys figure it out. This one could stand as a one-shot, but I may tie things in later.**

**Also, have any of you realized that you can create multiple Pottermore accounts on one email? While I'm originally a Ravenclaw, I was intensely curious if the other houses got any other experiences, and well, true to my Ravenclaw tendencies, I went and made more accounts... So this explains why a Ravenclaw knows so much about the Hufflepuff common room. But don't worry, fellow Ravenclaws: I'm only earning house points for our house. The other accounts are purely for informational purposes. **

**This is Hugo's first night (because let's face it: We see the Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw rooms in the book. But what about Hufflepuff?!).**

Chapter 12

"Ok, first years, listen up: The way into the common room is a bit tricky. You have to tap the barrel two from the bottom, in the middle of the second row, right here," the prefect showed them by pointing with his wand towards a particular barrel in the stack, "and you must tap it in the rhythm of 'Hel-ga Huf-fle-puff'. Everyone repeat that after me," he instructed, turning towards the sleepy first years.

"Hel-ga Huf-fle-puff," resounded through the kitchen corridor.

"Good. Now, because I want to make sure you all understand, each of you will enter the common room. Form a neat line, please."

The first years shuffled around, leaving Hugo somewhere in the middle, next to a platinum blonde with twinkling blue eyes.

"Well, this is going to take a while, isn't it?" The girl cooly remarked, turning to face Hugo with a sarcastic eye roll. "I appreciate the concern for us firsties; I know most upperclassmen wouldn't bother helping us, but this is a bit over the top don't you think?" She sighed, shaking her head slightly as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"My sister said that most upperclassmen only intervene when a firstie is going to do something to lose house points. It's kind of nice having some help," Hugo replied, not wanting to insult anyone.

"Oh! Of course it is! I'm sorry if you thought I was unappreciative, I really am, but... it's just so late and I think we all get it..." She trailed off as a blush crept up her face. There was an awkward pause, which left them both scrambling for a way to remedy the situation, before-

"What's your name, anyways?"

"I thought nothing of the sort!"

They blushed even deeper as they realized they had spoken at the same time.

"I'm sorry-"

"No, I'm sorry. You go first." Hugo smiled at her, his exhaustion beginning to find the hilarity in the situation.

"What's your name? I feel like I should know who I'm having this interesting conversation with," she smiled at her description, clearly finding the humor in it as well.

"I'm Hugo. Hugo Weasley," he responded, sticking out a hand for her to shake.

She took it as a smile lit up her young face. "I'm Eleanor Baxter. It's nice to meet you, Hugo."

* * *

With a new friend, the wait for their turns seemed to pass by quickly. Finally, Hugo was giving Eleanor (who had quickly been nicknamed "Ellie") a giant thumbs up of good luck. She tapped the correct barrel, with the correct rhythm, and crawled into the earthy passageway, the door shutting behind her.

"Alright, your turn. What's your name?" The prefect turned towards Hugo.

"Hugo Weasley." The small redhead smiled up at the kind prefect.

"Oh! You're Louis' cousin! I'm Jordan Moore. Now, let's see you get in," Jordan said as he motioned towards the barrels.

Hugo tapped carefully, opening the passageway. An earthy smell that reminded him of Mama Weasley's vegetable garden at the Burrow wafted out of the cool tunnel. Smiling, he ducked his head and entered.

After making his way through the long tunnel of packed earth, ducking roots and herbs hanging from the ceiling, Hugo clambered out of a large, circular door and into a cozy room decorated in the Hufflepuff yellow and black.

Many of the older kids had already gone to bed, anticipating the long day ahead of them, but a few, especially ones with family members in the new year, were lounging around on the patchwork covered couches and armchairs. Hugo's eyes wandered around the room, taking in the tall brunette girl watering the wolfsbane in the corner, the wizard chessboard sitting between two laughing boys who sat at polished wood tables, and of course, the most beautiful thing in the room: a portrait of Helga Hufflepuff, characteristic, loving smile adorning her face, holding a small golden cup in toast to her students. It sat above a sleek, antique, wooden mantelpiece covered in badgers.

Hugo was drawn to the painting, not even registering his cousin's approach.

_So this is what the cup looked like... _

He finally registered the boy standing next to him.

"The cup seems so small in comparison to what great evil it held, doesn't it?" Hugo turned towards his cousin.

"I knew it couldn't be big, but..." He turned back to the painting. "It was ours. He had no right to take it and deface it like that." The small eleven year old boy was surprisingly worked up in defense of a house he had been a part of for barely hours.

"He took a lot of things he had no right to take. Everyone lost something in that war. We still have this painting. I guess we're a bit lucky that way," Louis smiled down at his cousin.

"Why don't I go show you your dorm? You can meet the rest of your mates."

* * *

Louis led Hugo past dancing cacti and under ferns and ivy that ruffled his auburn hair as he passed beneath. They entered a large, green, circular door and walked down a tunnel. Each branching door had a brass placard on it, wording out "First Year" and "Second Year" and so on, each door a jet black with yellow badgers painted upon it. Louis led him to the door that read "First Year".

"This is your stop. I hope you're dorm mates are cool," He said, beginning to walk away. "Oh, and Hugo?" He stopped and turned back to his cousin. "I'm really glad your in Hufflepuff with me. It's nice not being alone."

Hugo smiled at his welcome and entered his new dorm room.


	13. Quidditch Trials

**Thanks to copperblooded for the follow! **

**Chapter 13... Ooooo fun number. ;) Next update will probably be Monday. **

Chapter 13

Two weeks had passed since the welcoming feast, and Lena had settled into a pattern of classes and fun meals with her new friends. Most of the time after classes, she, Lily and Josie would run outside to enjoy the remnants of summer before the biting chill set in. Once in a while, Mia and Mary would join them, although they weren't fans of the outdoors.

That day, they decided to go down to the Quidditch pitch to see the team trials. When they got down there, they saw the captain, Sean Wood, bellowing at a group of first years to get off the pitch, as they were not allowed to try out. They smiled amongst themselves and went to go join Roxanne, who had come out to support her brother.

"Hey, Roxy," Lily piped up. "How're the boys doing?"

Fred was the Keeper for the Gryffindor team, and had been for the past two years. James was Seeker. Although they both were required to try out each year, it was more formality than anything else, as no one dared dream of taking their spots.

"Messing around as usual. Wood's about to try out the Seeker's, this should be interesting." The four girls turned back to see Wood motion gruffly to a group of Gryffindors, of which James was a part.

"Right, Seekers. Remember, just because you're trying for a certain part doesn't mean you won't end up in a different spot on the team, so do your best."

He had them all kick off into the air and form a line, where he began to throw golf balls into the air.

Not even half of them caught them. When it got to James' turn, he looked at the line stretching out on either side, looked at his captain, and grinned. Then he flew back to the very edge of the pitch.

"RIGHT WOOD!" He called loudly. "LET'S TEST OUT THAT ARM YOU'VE GOT!"

Groaning, Wood sighed and stretched backward, preparing to throw the golf ball at James. At the last second, though, instead of throwing it directly at the boy, he threw it far to the left.

James was already in action the moment the ball left Wood's hand. Faster than a bullet, he sped in the direction the golf ball was headed, intercepting it with a stretch and swipe of his right hand before pulling up just shy of the left goal.

"AND POTTER'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Fred yelled out from the ground, beginning a cheer that was quickly taken up by everyone else present. Even Wood stood with an almost smile on his stony face, nearly glowing with pride over his young Seeker.

"A'right, Potter, get back here you show-off!" He called to the third year, who grinned and flew easily back to the ground.

"You may be better than your father, James!" A female voice called from the side. Lena turned to see a pretty blonde walking from the locker rooms.

"Hi Aunt Katie!" Lily yelled at the Chaser.

"Hey, Lils." She turned back to the tryouts, where James was landing with a wide grin and her son was standing with a wary look on his face.

"Sorry, Captain, to disturb your trials. Professor McGonagall told me where to find you, but I can wait until you're done." Katie intelligently smoothed things over with her son, clearly having learned a thing or two about the Wood clan.

She climbed up to the stands, coming to join her "niece".

"How are you, Lils?" She asked, as the trials resumed and another group of students rose into the air.

"Fine! I'm loving classes, except for potions. That I'm rubbish at." She wrinkled her nose, causing Katie to laugh.

"You obviously didn't get your grandmother's gift at potions, did you?" Harry had long since filled her in on the potions mishap of sixth year that had led to his near expulsion and suspension from Quidditch.

"Guess not. That's alright, James is decent and Al's amazing, so I've got two brothers who can help save my grade before exams."

Katie laughed. "I wish you the best of luck at convincing them to help you, Lily. They may be very good at potions, but they've both gotten their father's boundless energy and inability to sit still. You're going to be hard pressed to keep them in one place long enough to convince them to help you, let alone actual tutoring. You may want to find someone else."

Lily laughed in agreement, and the conversation petered out as the trials became more interesting with the release of a few small Dungbombs next to a crowd of second year girls.

"POTTER! WEASLEY! GO! TAKE A LAP!" Wood yelled at the two culprits, who sighed guiltily and ran off around the Quidditch Pitch.

"Alright, the rest of you, I think I've seen enough. Everyone's been seen, yes? Speak up now or forever hold your peace."

At the chorus of agreement, he released trials and headed towards the stands, where his mum still sat.

"Hey, mum, was there a reason you wanted to speak to me?" He quite suddenly morphed from the intimidating captain to the relaxed, laid-back son he usually was around his mum. She always managed to bring out the fun in him and dad.

"McGonagall wanted me to come in for a few weeks to teach the first years' Quidditch lessons. I guess the other teacher backed out, and she needed a replacement, fast. So I said I'd come until she could find a permanent replacement."

Wood nodded, accepting this easily, then asked, "How's dad?" Mother and son walked off the pitch, discussing Oliver's latest victory as Coach of Puddlemere United.

"Well, that was interesting. Len, are you going to come back to the common room with us?" Lily turned towards her friend, who was gazing out at the pitch with yearning. She recognized the look immediately; James often had it when he hadn't been able to fly in a while.

"Never mind, stay here. If you ask James nicely, he may let you on his broom. If you outwit him, he definitely will," she shot over her shoulder as she and Josie sauntered away.

"Right, thanks for the advice, Lil," she muttered under her breath. She didn't need her help. She had figured out how to get James' broom long ago.

* * *

"Hey Brownie!" Fred called as the two pranksters returned from their lap around the quidditch pitch.

"Not you too!" She groaned in mock annoyance, ruining the image as a large grin rose on her face. Turning from Fred, she skipped lightly up to James, who was gathering up his broomstick.

"James? Jamsie Jamsie Jaaaaaames?" She called, bending upside down so her face was level with the his, as he had sat down on the ground to remove his shin guards.

He looked in her bright eyes, smiled, and immediately relented. "Go. Take it. Just be careful, 'kay?"

"YAY! THANK YOU!" She bounced back up, grabbed the broomstick, and hopped on, soaring gleefully into the air.

Fred looked at James, astounded.

"Did you just let her take your broomstick? With nothing more than a 'be careful'?"

James rolled his eyes. "I let people on my broom. It's not a big deal."

His cousin looked at him incredulously. "Yes, James, it is. You don't let just _anyone _on your broom. How come she's so special?"

James looked his cousin in the eyes.

"Because, she learned to fly two weeks ago. Look at her now." They turned to where she was spinning and speeding around the hoops, in perfect control over the thin wood in her hands. "She belongs there, doesn't she? So, I intend to let her fly when she wants to. Then next year, when she and Lily try out for the team, we'll have a pair of amazing Chasers on our hands."

Fred was still watching the girl flying high in the sky. "You're right, mate." He mused, his eyes following as she pulled into a steep dive. "I'll be right back..." He jogged off towards the locker room, leaving James to watch the girl revel in her freedom alone.

* * *

**Right, so what do you guys think Fred is up to? Hope you guys like the Katie/Oliver ship, cuz I do. **

**Please, please, show me you exist, gremlins! Cause a little chaos if you want but do something... I write faster when I get reviews. I honestly don't care if they're critical; I know that whole saying "If you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all" thing is nice, but seriously. If you don't like something or if you want me to fix something, then let me know. I won't be offended. **

**-Melody**


	14. Dragon Rider

**Copperblooded: Patience, young Padawan. I've been dropping a few things; so far she was able to see through the barrier at 9 3/4 and the invisibility cloak. And her Quidditch skill is also definitely not just human. Also, the Sorting Hat definitely hinted that he knew exactly what she was, and, though you may not have noticed, so did Ollivander. It was subtle, but he knows. But that's going to be built upon as she learns more magic and realizes she can do some things others can't. Though if you (or anyone for that matter) have any suggestions on things you think she would be able to do or on how I should release information, let me know, because I'm still trying to figure some of that out. **

Chapter 14

Wood had left his mum and was just getting out of his Quidditch robes when Fred Weasley came racing in, yelling "Wood! You've got to come see this!"

Quickly, the fourth year grabbed his captain's arm, turning a deaf ear to the loud complaints of the sixth year. Wood was dragged forcefully back into the bright sun, much to the confusion of his mum, who was still heading up to the castle.

"Fred? What the bloody hell is going on?!" He struggled to break free of the boy's iron grasp.

"C'mon, c'mon, C'MON! She's bloody brilliant we need her on the team!"

That got him going. The two boys raced down to the pitch, arriving just in time to see a petite blond girl diving straight towards the ground, speed climbing quickly, hurtling and hurtling faster and faster...

"Oh gods, she's going to crash!" Wood started running, fear pounding in his heart. He _hated _it when the first years did stupid things.

"No! Wood! She isn't. Just watch." He stood silently, Fred's hand still gripping the edge of his sleeve, as the girl pulled out of her steep dive and climbed higher into the air. She was laughing at something, and Wood followed her gaze towards James. He was shaking his fist at her and shouting, stumbling around blindly without his glasses on.

She had snitched the boy's glasses right off his face.

"James! Get her down! NOW!" He barked, striding in, all business like. He needed to talk to this girl, and fast.

The girl joined them quickly, shock and guilt written plainly across her face.

"What's your name, firstie?" He asked, standing in front of her at his full height. He wanted to see if she would crumble under his intimidating glare.

She didn't. Instead, she stuck her chin up in the air and looked straight into his eyes with defiance.

"Silena Ashington. And you are?" Her voice was cold and polite, but firm as well, making it very clear she wasn't about to be intimidated just because he was bigger and stronger.

He liked that. A Quidditch player needed to be defiant.

"Sean Wood. Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Where in the name of Merlin's pants did you learn to fly like that?!"

* * *

"Professor! Professor Longbottom!" Wood ran after the Head of Gryffindor, dragging Lena behind him. James and Fred followed behind.

"Dear god, what trouble have these fools gotten themselves into now, Wood?" Neville turned his standard slightly disapproving gaze that was specifically perfected for James and Fred on the group.

"No, it's not that, sir, it's just-well- During try-outs I didn't really see any good Chasers to replace Teddy but then after Fred came and got me and made me watch her fly and-" He rambled on, not making any sense in his excitement.

"Hold on, Wood. Slow down. Start over." Neville commanded, standing still and giving the captain his complete attention.

"Sorry, sir. Right, so this first year, Ashington, she was flying on James' broom after tryouts, and I saw her, and she's bloody brilliant... I really wasn't happy with the turn out for Chasers this year, and we desperately need a replacement for Teddy. Please, please sir, can you get McGonagall to bend the rules?" He finished breathlessly, looking up at the tall professor imploringly.

"Well, I can ask... I can't make any promises. You know she didn't allow James on the team early either."

"Yea, but we had Teddy in Seeker and he was decent enough. We don't have Teddy this year. Besides, she's amazing..." He was looking at Neville with pleading eyes that he had seen his mum win countless battles with- one of the good side effects of getting her eyes.

"Look, Sean, I'll do my best, but... You know Professor McGonagall can be-"

"Professor McGonagall can be what?" As if summoned, the old lady herself came striding regally down the hall. "I heard Wood was running down the hallways dragging a poor first year behind him- is this her?" She turned her shrewd eyes on Lena, narrowing them slightly with further scrutiny as she realized who she was.

"Well, Wood, do explain yourself. I haven't got all day." She folded her hands intently and turned her piercing eyes on the quidditch captain, who immediately dropped his pleading-eyed look and turned back into serious, down-to-earth son of Oliver Wood.

"Well, ma'am, Quidditch trials weren't great for Chasers, and I was sort of losing hope when I saw Ashington here flying after the trials. She was brilliant- already doing near perfect Wronski Feints- and I knew immediately I had to have her on the team. She's the perfect replacement for Teddy. I think he himself wouldn't want anyone but her taking his precious spot on the team. I know she's just a first year, but would it be possible to bend the rules just a bit, Professor?"

They all held his breath as McGonagall looked Lena over critically. "Well, I'm sure she flies amazingly well, Wood, but I'm very sorry, I cannot bend the rules. As Deputy Headmistress I was able to openly support my house and put Harry on the team, but I really don't feel as if I would be able to do that a second time, especially for the same house. However," she went on, pointedly warning him not to interrupt her, as he was just about to, "I will permit her a broom, if someone is willing to sponsor her, so that she may learn and perfect her skills for next year. She is not allowed to join the Quidditch team, though."

Wood nodded. "Thank you, Professor. Next year, when you see her fly, you won't regret this decision."

She nodded once in return, and they all left the hallway.

* * *

"Can you believe it, Lily?" The two girls were lying on Lena's bed, Josie at the foot, discussing the events of the day.

"Did you really snitch the glasses right off of James' nose?" Josie asked, giggling.

"Yes... I can't help my mischievous tendencies, can I?" She slyly tapped Josie on the nose, her hand moving fast enough to blur.

"Hey! You know, I don't think Brownie is a good name for you; it should have been Puck. Like from Shakespeare." Lily laughed at the thought. "Though even if he likes it better, he'll still refuse to change it. Once you've been named by him, he'll never let it go."

"Eh, I think it could work. She is friendly, helpful, but if you point it out... That's when she becomes truly devious. But she has her fun on the way."

This caused all three of them to laugh, continuing into the night as the three friends celebrated their youth.

* * *

"Professor McGonagall? You wanted to see me?" Neville knocked on the door to the Headmistress's office.

"Ah, yes, Neville, come in." She had long since given up on getting him to call her 'Minerva'.

"I'll get straight to the point," she said, hardly waiting for him to sit down. "The girl is much more powerful than we anticipated. It seems her flying skills are becoming better every day."

"So you're sure this is a side effect of the elven blood and not just the possibility that her father was a stellar Quidditch player?"

She regarded him with her steely eyes. "I think you've guessed on who the father is by now. She looks like him. He wasn't a stellar Quidditch player. No, this is elven. They ride dragons, you know- they're the only creatures who can. They've a natural skill for it. I think that's what we're seeing."

"So is that why you don't want her playing on the team yet? Because you're not sure if you should be progressing her hidden talents?"

The old woman smiled ruefully. "I suppose so. I want to make sure she's an honest, good girl; although, the fact that the Sorting Hat put her in Gryffindor and not Slytherin makes me feel a tad bit better. We just can't be too sure of her... Elves are so deceiving her true nature could be lying hidden beneath multiple layers of disguise. I'd like you to keep watching her. Talk to the other professors as surreptitiously as you can, ask the Potter children how she's doing, talk to Harry and Ginny... do whatever you can to learn everything about her. If there's a chance the tension between the elves and the wizards ever builds, I want to be sure she sides with us and not them."

"I'll do my best, Professor." Neville stood and headed to the door.

"Neville, be wary- if provoked, she could make a very dangerous enemy, and all will be lost."

* * *

**Ahaha now you guys can probably guess at my evil intentions. Who thought she would be on the team first year? (I was going to, but that's a bit too much like Harry...) And that line about the father... You might hate me for this, but it's going to be a while before you get to know who he is. I'm going to milk that for all it's worth. **

**So I managed to introduce info through suspicious talks between McG and Neville, but do you guys have any thoughts on other ways to introduce her powers? That's been a bit confusing for me because the elves aren't in yet so there's really no way for me to be like "SIDE EFFECTS OF ELVEN BLOOD HERE". I guess all I can say is just keep an eye out for when she can do weird things. (Like that looking through the barrier at the train thing... Definitely elf.)**

**R&R!**

**-Melody**


	15. A Potions Mishap

**Thanks to ItsMillerTime15 for the follow!**

**Rachelmarie (Guest): Thanks for the review! I'm glad I can make you happy. :) I had thought of the classes, but I was going along the lines of the standard third year ones. But that's a good idea to have an intro class... I had planned for DADA and History of Magic to have a big effect too but other than that I was stumped. Thanks a lot! I'm also thinking that the first couple of years are going to be skimmed by a bit faster than the others because no one will know or be figuring out things so it'll just be standard Hogwarts stuff. So some of these things may be second or third year. :) but thanks again for the review!**

**Thanks to night199596 for the follows and favorites!**

**deant33: Thanks for the review! The father is going to be kept quiet for a while, but I'll probably be dropping hints. So maybe some of you will figure it out. Hopefully not too many, cuz I want it to still be a surprise, but if all goes well, when I finally mention him, you guys will all go "Oh... I so should have seen that!" As for Vic, in the epilogue, we know that Teddy has graduated, we know Vic has not, but we don't know her age. I wanted to include her there for the year so I could still include a bit of that Teddy/Victoire romance, so I decided to go with her being in sixth year in the epilogue, and Teddy having just graduated the year before.**

**Uni: Thanks for the review! We really don't know how old the Potter's are, and I just thought that between Ginny's sibling situation and Harry's lack of one, they would both want all their kids to be close in age. So it made sense to me to make them all about a year apart. And expect more Neville/Minnie banter, because I have so much fun writing that. :)**

Chapter 15

Lucy sauntered her way into the potions room. As per tradition, the Slytherins and Gryffindors shared the class, so Lucy got to see her cousin every other day.

It was not exactly her favorite class.

As Professor Burns strode into class, Lucy saw her cousin slip quietly into class with the bloody new girl by her side. The two girls were inseparable- and insufferable. They toed the line just barely- causing plenty of mischief already in the first two months of school, and yet they never got caught. Professor Burns either turned a blind eye, or they were just that good.

They couldn't be that good.

Lucy and her posse were through with it. They had decided- today was the day.

"Have you got the fireworks, Luce?" Her dorm mate Cassandra whispered as Professor Burns waved her wand, putting potions directions on the board.

"Of course, Cass. What type of Weasley would I be if I didn't?" Her uncle George had gone behind her father's back and had given her a going away present- a giant box of Weasley's Wizardly Wheezes: Hogwarts Edition products. It was literally a starters kit for the average student pranker.

She was well prepared.

She thought back to the event that had made her so intent on revenge. It had been in Herbology, and Professor Longbottom was introducing them to Kneazlewort. It was a harmless plant, but could give a nasty rash if handled indelicately.

The two mischief makers had definitely been handling it indelicately. Lena seemed to be mesmerized with the softness of the leaves, and she was handling it with her bare hands. The Professor hadn't said anything, so Lucy had assumed it was safe to touch. Lily wasn't touching it, but then again, she was distractedly talking to another student.

Lena had convinced Lucy to rub the soft leaves against her cheek. They were soft, like angel's wings brushing lightly against her cheek, until they started to burn. Soon, as Lena laughed hysterically (what a cruel little girl) Lucy was screaming in pain and nearly crying. Then, the stupid girl had even bent down to _touch_ her, seeming to be helping her up, but only spreading the residue of the leaves still on her hands to Lucy's. From there, it got everywhere as Lucy tried not to touch any remaining part of her unaffected skin as she itched and scratched and tried to ease the pain of the afflicted sections.

Lucy had been mortified. Even worse, after sending her to Madam Pomfrey, the next class, Professor Longbottom had scolded her- _scolded her!-_ about following his directions and not messing around. His classroom was filled with dangerous plants, and he knew her father would wish her to be more careful.

As if it were _her _fault.

* * *

"Lucy's glaring at us again." Lena looked over at Lily's cousin. The girl was annoying at best and downright malicious at worst. She took the Weasley mischief to a whole new level, not stopping to think about others. Already she had gathered a group of followers to rival Victoire's, and those Slytherins who were shunned from her presence were broken hearted inside. Within the first month, Lucy had made at least three girls cry, turned the Rolfe twins against each other (a feat made more stunning by the fact that they were so close they could sometimes read the others' mind), and broken up the hottest couple in the year. She was manipulative, observant, and always ready to get into trouble- a dangerous combination in any Weasley, but especially lethal between the perfect, red curls of Lucy Weasley.

"I think she's still mad about the Herbology incident. I know I never really liked her in the first place, but she won't even speak of me to the rest of the fam. It's like I don't exist."

"I apologized for the incident! I didn't know she was actually in pain- I thought she was just being funny! God knows the boys pull things like that off all the time. And besides, how was I to know that I could touch it and she couldn't? It's not my fault I've got resistant skin! I honestly don't know why it didn't give me a rash." She frowned in thought but was quickly distracted as Lucy whispered something over to Cassandra, her current best friend. The two girls looked over at the Gryffindors again.

Well, _that _wasn't suspicious.

"What do you think they're up to?" Lena asked, watching them out of the corner of her eye. The two girls were looking at something under the desk, definitely not concentrating on their potion.

"What? I'm sure it's nothing," Lily shrugged off any concern. She was used to her cousin's glares, and besides, they were making a forgetfulness potion, even Lucy wouldn't make mischief with that type of risk.

* * *

"Right, Cass, you know the plan, right?" Lucy whispered softly to her mate. "You go distract Lily- the family would murder me if anything happened to their 'precious Lily flower'-" sarcasm was dripping from her voice-" so get her out of the way. Then I'll throw the fireworks in their cauldron, so the potion will splash Ashington. You offer to take her to the Hospital Wing, and then-"

"Take her to Lydia and Madison, I know. How long did you say we had until the effects wore off again? She won't be able to remember any of this, will she?"

"No, she shouldn't be able to. The hardest job you will have is just convincing her to do whatever you want, and she'll be acting like a child already, so it shouldn't be to hard." Lucy smiled coldly. "Oh- don't forget to take pictures," she added. "_Lots_ of pictures."

Smiling in response, Cassandra began to sashay her way to the Gryffindors' table.

* * *

"Hey, Lily." The melodic voice broke Lena's concentration on the potion. Looking up, she saw Cassandra Nott stop in front of Lily, her brown hair swishing behind her back. "Can you help me with these ingredients?"

"Is there a reason Luce can't do it?" Lily asked, slightly confused.

"Oh, she asked me to come over and ask you. To be honest, I think this is her way of trying to apologize for how she's been treating you recently. So maybe, after you help me, I can help you strike up a conversation and get this whole little family spat fixed..." She smiled encouragingly, her brown eyes simpering and sweet. Lily was falling for it, hard.

"Oh, sure! I'd love to help!" The two girls strolled off towards the potions cabinet, chatting like old friends.

_Something's up with this picture... What's going on? _Lena thought suspiciously to herself. She checked on the other side of the cauldron to make sure Cass had left nothing incriminating or dangerous there.

_Ok, Lena, there's nothing there. Stop being so suspicious! Not everyone is out to get you. _

**_But when was the last time someone _wasn't _out to get you?_**

_Oh, be rational, Lena. This is Hogwarts! _She shook her head at her ridiculous, and leaned over her cutting board, right next to the potion.

It was at that moment that something landed with a _plop!_ in the liquid. A tense split-second later, as Lena's brain screamed at her to close her eyes and duck, and-

_BOOM! _

The cauldron exploded majestically, showering Lena and everyone around her with Forgetfulness potion. Amid the shrieks of everyone who had not been hit, and the babbles of everyone who had and had consequently forgotten how to talk, no one noticed the quiet girl in the front of the class beginning to change colors.

Except for one.

"OH MY GOD!" Lucy shrieked, whipping out her camera. "Ashington's turned _orange!_

* * *

**Well. _That's _an interesting reaction. I do have reasoning behind the weird changing colors instead of forgetting, and it will be explained in the next chapter. What do you guys think about Lucy? Think she has the makings of a good Slytherin or an evil one? **

**Next update will be by Monday! **

**R&R! Please! I'll update faster if you do. **

**-Melody**


	16. Rainbows

**This is now being used for the Long Haul Competition on HPFC, so my weekly updates will be assured now. This is just to get the update in for the week, and then we will be back to mondays! (Also, I'm getting busier, so I probably will be sticking to the once a week thing, instead of uploading multiple times.) **

**Uni: I just saw all the other reviews you left me. First, thanks! CH2: Yep. It was pretty much a filler. I had to get her out of the orphanage but it's really not interesting writing about Neville's speel about Hogwarts when you have the entire Potter-Weasley family lining up and yelling for your attention. CH3: You're going to hate me so much later for the entire Owen/Katherine plot. They're going to come back next chapter. CH4: James is such a thirteen year old boy. What else can I say? He's oblivious. CH5: Thanks :) I like writing her inner thoughts. Her bantering makes me laugh. And that was a Terry Pratchett reference, the First and Second Thoughts thing. I got the idea from his Tiffany Aching series (GREAT series, btw. He's such a witty, sarcastic writer, and this series is also about witches.) CH6: Hagrid is innocently, suspiciously, ALWAYS in Knockturn. Besides, who else would come dragging back a grinning James? :D There will be many, MANY more James being like Fred-n-George moments.**

**Thanks to SilverWolf1978 for the follow!**

**Rachelmarie: Thank you so much for the review! It really made my day sooo much better after the hard french test I had to take. I'm not sure if I can promise faster, but I will be updating once or twice a week. I will definitely have at least one chapter every week (preferably Mondays, but if for some reason I am unable to upload, I'll let you guys know) because I'm in a competition stating that we must upload a chapter a week. So, more motivation! James and Selena are just so much fun to write. I already have some really cute moments planned out for when they're old enough to be at the "sigh he smiled at me I'm so in love" age. You're going to love it. I always love to hear what my fans (it's so much fun to say that! I feel so popular ;) have to say, so never hesitate from either sending me a PM or leaving a review! THANKS AGAIN! You're amazing. :) It's for people like you that I update this story.**

**Thanks to Muggle Jane for the follow!**

**Fruitandnutcase (Guest): Thanks for the review! I'm glad the Slytherins are happy. :) Hopefully you'll see this when you're caught up. As for James and Lena... Would I be so cruel as to not make them get together? (Btw, read the response to rachelmarie. She asked the same thing). You're going to love me-and possibly hate me- for parts of their relationship. **

**Chapter Rating (for 2014 showcase): K. Color changing is fun and happy. :) (Well, except for the traumatic experience of it being YOU who is changing colors, but as it isn't any of us, (I should hope gremlins don't change colors), we can laugh!)**

**(Word Count of A/N: 4 hundred something. )**

**R&R!**

Chapter 16

Lena looked down at her skin. It was rapidly fading from a bright orange to a dull, army green. Up until then, she had been pretty good at keeping her cool when bad or odd things happened to her. The bouncing from the window at the orphanage, the water constantly vanishing from her cup each time she lifted it to take a drink (it had taken her only a few minutes to realize Fred and James were laughing about something _other _than that day's lesson with Professor Binns), the slips on the Vanishing step- but this was the last straw. Her own skin changing colors? She couldn't help it.

She panicked.

When Lily had finally dragged her away and gotten her to stop screaming bloody murder, they were halfway to the Hospital Wing.

"Lily! What if I don't change back?!" Lena cried as she was led, hysterical, through the doors of the infirmary.

"Madame Pomfrey!" Lily called for the mediwitch, ignoring her friend entirely. "Madame Pomfrey, Lena was hit by some Forgetfulness Potion and now she's changing colors! Can you help?" The two girls came to a stop as Madame Pomfrey regarded them both with a quizzical look.

"My gods, child, are you sure you were brewing a Forgetfulness Potion? It looks more like a color changing potion to me."

"Yes, ma'am, Professor Burns said it was near perfect! It was definitely a Forgetfulness Potion," Lena was calming down now; focusing on answering the questions helped get her thoughts back under control.

"Yea, if it hadn't been sabotaged by fireworks we would have had top marks!" Lily interjected, angrily clenching her arms.

But her anger was soon forgotten, for at the mention of fireworks, they began bursting out in radiant colors across Lena's skin.

"GAH! It's getting worse!" Lena cried, and the hysterics nearly came back.

* * *

Madame Pomfrey had gotten Lena settled into a bed in the Hospital Wing and was busy setting up the curtains around the bed to give the mortified girl some privacy. She had decided, since Lena had had such an odd reaction to the Forgetfulness Potion, not to give her an antidote and see if it wore off. The potion's effects usually only lasted a few hours anyway, so she was excused from the rest of her day's lessons.

As soon as Lily was finished in class, she went scampering back up to deliver the invalid's homework.

"How are you feeling, Len?" she asked, slipping into a chair.

"I feel fine. But my skin won't stop changing colors..." To reflect her worried tone, her skin color turned a sickly shade of green.

"Ok, so it seems to be reacting to your emotions and thoughts, right?" Lily reasoned, hoping to help her friend solve the problem. "So you just need to think of your skin color, and then you'll look normal again."

Lena thought, with difficulty, about her natural, pale skin color. When she opened her eyes, she was cured!

"Yes! Thanks so much Lily! Oh, I'm so glad I'm not changing colors anymore- I hated being pink-" She stopped abruptly as, with the utterance of the word pink, her skin changed to a lovely magenta color.

"Dammit!"

* * *

Lucy sat giggling with her friends in the Slytherin Common Room that evening.

"Did you _see _the look on her face?! It was so much better than I thought it would be! And when that firework exploded- priceless!" The first year Slytherins collapsed into a heap of giggles.

"Luce, we have _got _to do something like this again. It was so much fun pranking her!" Cassandra said, fighting off her laughter. Lucy nodded her agreement, then looked up as Madison entered the room.

"Hey, Mads. What's up?" She sobered at the look on her friend's face.

"You're cousins want to talk to you. They're waiting outside right now."

"Go tell them I'm busy," Lucy casually ordered, turning back to the fireplace. She listened to no one, let alone her family. It was probably Rosie coming to tell her she was turning into Fred and James, and not to follow their-

"You don't look busy to me," a male voice, hardened with anger, spat out. Lucy spun in her chair, eyes wide with shock as, with a rustle of fabric, James and Albus Potter were revealed to be standing there.

"How did you get in here?!" She shrieked.

James winked. "One of the many secrets of my trade, little cousin. A trade that you seem to be attempting to learn- and doing a soddy job of it." He glared at her, watching as she rose to the challenge.

"What, are you here to tell me that my prank was 'wrong' and 'stupid' and I should be a good little girl like Mummy and Daddy want me to be? Because coming from you, that's hypocritical."

"No, Lucy, we aren't here to tell you that you were wrong to prank Lena and Lily," Albus cut in, before his older brother said something worse. "Truthfully, they've been asking for it. But that wasn't the way to do it. What you did today left Lena in the Hospital Wing with an allergic reaction Madame Pomfrey's never seen before- who knows how long it will last? You also affected seven other students, causing them all to be incapacitated from the effects of the potion. And for what, a little revenge because they've been annoying you?" He shook his head, thoroughly disappointed in her.

That got her mad. Albus was the cousin she had always looked up to, the one family member she really didn't mind being around. He was quiet and paid attention to her, and he didn't try to be patronizing like the other older ones.

"_Little revenge?"_ She hissed. "I ended up in the Hospital Wing myself from what they did to me in Herbology!" Her voice was growing louder and louder with each word.

"Lena apologized for that! She honestly didn't know it would affect you in a different way! It didn't affect her the same way it usually does, and she's a muggleborn, so how could she have known any better?!" James yelled, taking a step closer to his cousin.

Lucy laughed. "Oh, yes, she's so _new, _and _innocent, _and she doesn't know what she's _doing, _and she said she was _sorry-_ Are you really falling for that mudblood's tricks?" She spat out, saying the one word she knew would really hurt her cousins.

The effect was instantaneous. The entire room, which had been filled with whispers and bets on who would win the family fight, fell completely, utterly silent. If someone had dropped a pin, it would have sounded as loud as a bomb.

"_What did you say?"_ James hissed, his eyes narrowing. Lucy immediately regretted her decision, for the Gryffindor looked like he was about to Avada her.

"James. Don't bother," Albus grabbed his brother's sleeve, looking upon his cousin with disgust. "She's long past redemption." With that, he turned and dragged his brother out the door.

Lucy sank back into her seat, plastering a fake smile on her face.

"Are you ok, Luce?" Cass looked into her friend's face, worry in her eyes.

Lucy blinked once, calming down her mind. She smiled a brilliant smile. "Of course, Cass! Who needs family anyways?" And with that, she went back to charming her house.

But the entire time, one thought kept nagging her at the back of her brain:

_What had she done?_

* * *

The odd child had finally fallen asleep when Minerva came to speak to Poppy. Gratefully, she closed the door and cast a _muffliato_ spell on it.

"I assume you want to know about the child, Poppy?" Minerva spoke softly, sitting in the vacant chair.

"Yes, Minerva, there is something seriously wrong with that girl! I've never seen anyone with that sort of reaction before!" Poppy leaned forward anxiously. She had liked the girl; she was clever, kind, and had calmed down quicker than most. Poppy hoped there was nothing terribly wrong with her.

"Yes, well, she's not a normal human girl. She's... well, Poppy, she's..." Minerva seemed at a loss of words, and Poppy leaned even closer.

"Yes, Minerva?"

"She's a half-elf."

Poppy leaned back in shock. "Half-_what?! Elf! _But- elves are dangerous! And they hate wizards, it's why they sided with Voldemort in the war, and-"

"And it's why we sent a delegation almost twelve years ago to solve the problems. And obviously, one of them must not have hated wizards too much, as she was born."

Poppy was silent for a moment, then-

"What do you know about her? I've heard she's a great flier; is that wizard or elf?"

"Elf. And I think I have an idea as to why she changed colors, but I can't be too sure. Elves are experts at illusion, yes? Well, I do believe that they unintentionally perfect their looks. The illusion magic is in their very DNA. So, when the Forgetfulness Potion hit her, the illusion in her blood went haywire as the two magics collided. It must have started the color changing."

"That does make sense, Minerva. Do you have any theories on how to cure her?"

"I guess just wait for the effects to wear off. And start reading up on elvin potions. Normal healing methods may not work on her. Talk to Hagrid, or Charlie. One of them might have interacted with elves, or picked up some useful piece of information through the years."

* * *

**Yay! We're going to get some Charlie and Hagrid moments. Maybe some Olympe as well, because I think the elves would be more common among french lore. I do imagine them to be cousins of the veela, after all.**

**Also, did anyone ever read that kid's book about the girl who loves lima beans and starts changing colors when she stops eating them due to peer pressure? (My mum gave me LOTS of books with meaningful messages as a kid, so maybe not). I'll admit it, that definitely influenced this chapter. **

**R&R! **


	17. Letters

**Thanks to CookieMonster2244, princessanastasiaromanov464, and cacata for the favorites! **

**For Long Haul Comp III and 2014 Showcase (Rating K)**

**For the Star Challenge: Red Giant (Write about the Weasley Family. I figured this counted since the drama and two of the three letters were from Weasley relations.)**

**And, most importantly, thanks to my two betas, Taylor (Semblance of Sanity) and Alice (Mad As Alice)! You guys are the best!**

Chapter 17

_Dear Owen and Katherine, _

_Life here at Hogwarts is amazing! The classes are all extremely intersting, especially my physical studies class. We don't have to do any boring things like sit ups and push ups- like the ones Ms. Benson made us do to stay in shape. Instead, we get to play sports, run, and play a really fun game called 'Quidditch'. We have a tournament for it, but first years aren't allowed on the team. Apparently I'm a natural at it though, and the Quidditch Captain for my House is giving me private lessons every week! However, most of the time he has the younger members of the team come and help me out. He says it helps them, too. _

_School has been really busy as Christmas holidays are approaching fast. Next week is midyear exams, so I'm very nervous about how I will do. But afterwards is Christmas! I'm really sad Ms. Benson won't allow me to go back to Burlington, but I've found some fun Christmas presents for both of you in the village nearby called Hogsmeade. Well, James was the one who got them, since first years aren't allowed down in the village, but they were my idea. _

_I'm staying at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays along with the Potters. Mr. and Mrs. Potter are going to visit here on Christmas anyways. They said something about visiting someone's grave, and James and Albus are both on their House Quidditch teams, so they want to get some extra practice in during break. _

_Darlings, I really hope you are doing well at the orphanage. Owen, your letters are improving so well! And I'm so glad to hear that you've been able to read aloud to the others when you receive my letters. But, and this is to Kristie, thank you for helping him! _

_Now, for all who read my letters (for I know they get passed around the orphanage like a wild fire), if Ms. Benson hurts you, **don't hesitate to send for Mr. Potter. **He's promised to keep an eye on all of you and make sure nothing goes wrong. As long as you all keep your heads down and try not to get caught, you'll be fine. _

_I love you all lots, and I hope to see you over Easter break!_

_Love, _

_Lena_

Lena sighed as she finished her letter. It was so hard to talk to Owen and Katherine without mentioning magic, and she was so worried about them. True, she had asked Kristie Smith to watch over them as she was the only other older orphan Lena felt she could trust, but Lena couldn't do anything if something happened. She kept feeling that without her there, something would.

She was also very sorry to be missing Owen's fifth birthday. They never really got to celebrate it much, but Lena always managed to do something. They would sing a song and play in the garden, and if they were lucky, sometimes Lena could snatch some fresh fruit from the kitchen for dessert. Hopefully, if she was lucky, Lena would be allowed back to visit over Easter, which was right when Katherine would turn four. She felt terrible about missing the important events of the two kids. They were her brother and sister. Maybe not by blood, but by spirit, they were the only family she had.

* * *

**Dear Mum and Dad, **

**Being a third year is so hard! I absolutely hate Divination- Trelawny is such an insane old bat. (Don't frown at me like that, Mum, you know it's true!) Care of Magical Creatures is fun, although it's a bit weird to be taught by your uncle. Herbology is going well, too, although that may be because Neville is so nice. **

**Right now, Gryffindor is winning the Quidditch Tournament! We beat Slytherin, easily, but up next we have to play Ravenclaw. Don't ever tell him I said it, but Albus is a really good Chaser. So are Rosie and Scorpius. Honestly, those three are so in sync with each other, and so close, I think they can read each other's minds! I'm going to have a hard time catching the snitch before they score too many points. Sean is actually nervous for once. And Caleb Thomas is practically shaking with fear- it's his first year on the team and he's still nervous about it. He's a great beater, though; I wish he would see it. I think his nerves are almost as bad as Uncle Ron's used to be!**

**Since I know you're going to ask, yes, I've been looking after Lily and the Brownie. Thank the gods they both ended up in Gryffindor, because it would have been hard for me to watch them closely if they hadn't. And the Potters need to carry on the Gryff pride a bit more. Al's a great Ravenclaw, but he is the odd ball out. (But don't worry, Mum! I still love him! And I don't tease him _too_ much!)**

**I probably shouldn't be telling you this, and please DON'T tell Uncle Percy, but Lucy and the girls have been at war with each other. Lucy has become a right Queen of Slytherin; already, she's managed to break up Drew Addams and Conrad West, the "hottest couple", and she's got a little posse running around her. Sometimes I think _she's_ the part-veela cousin, not Victoire or Dominique. Anyways, she and Lena have gotten into some sort of issue- it was all a big mistake, really- but it's been escalating. We've warned Luce to shut it and get over the mishap, but she was very offended. (All the other Slytherins seemed to be offended, too. If Al and I hadn't left, I think we would have been kicked out of their common room!) She isn't talking to us, and we aren't really talking to her, either. But Mum, Dad, the girl has got to grow up. She's a terrible pranker, and terrible at retaliation. It's just going to land her in detention. **

**So, Mum, since I know Lucy likes you and all, can you use your motherly magic and put her to rights? She and Mols are going home for Christmas, so maybe you can talk to her. **

**In other news, Al is doing fine, I'm doing fine, everyone is healthy and spectacular, so everything is good. Oh, I forgot to ask, you got a new puppy?! Have you named her yet? **

**Also, I so called it. I KNEW you guys wouldn't be able to stand an empty house! Al owes me a galleon. :)**

**Lots of love to you both, and Dad, I'll be seeing you soon for your annual "Dark Arts are Bad" speech. Change it up a bit this year and maybe help me with a prank for old times sake, eh? **

**Love, **

**James**

James finished dashing out his letter before shaking the parchment a few times to dry. He ran up to the Owlery to find his owl, Rowan, and send the letter off to his parents. He hoped he hadn't said too much, but the situation with Lucy, Lena, and Lily was beginning to bother him. It could become a full-on, family feud, and that would ruin a lot of family holidays.

* * *

_Dearest Teddy, _

_I miss you so much, darling! But soon, I'll be out of here, and I'll be starting my own fashion business. Then we can be together again. _

_School is so dreadfully boring without you here. I miss our walks in the moonlight. You were always so fun and mischevious the closer it got to the moon. I know your wolfish tendencies made you nervous, but I knew you would never hurt me. Daddy does the same thing. _

_Your wolfish, not quite human traits have put me on the suspicions again. Do you remember that new girl Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny took in? The little witch from the orphanage? Well, she's a sweet girl, but she's very odd. I know from watching you that she isn't fully human, but I can't put my finger on what else she could be. She's small, so it's definitely not giant. Maybe you can help me figure it out. She's mischievous, and fast. She's also very good at sneaking around the castle. She snuck up behind me one time, and I wouldn't have even seen her if I hadn't borrowed James' map for patrols! I would've given her a detention if I weren't so impressed with how she had nearly managed to get by me. _

_Also, there was an incident involving her in the potions room. I wasn't there for it, so I don't know the exact details, but James was ranting and raving about it in the common room that evening. I guess she was brewing a potion and Lucy threw a firework in it, and she started changing colors when it hit her. But it was supposed to be a Forgetfulness potion... Well, I guess that girl should never be a potions master! _

_Although she is very odd... She sort of reminds me of the veela charms from my mother's side. I wonder if perhaps she could be part veela, too? She does have that shimmery blonde hair and that walk that only a veela can have. It's very probable. _

_But, darling, enough about others. I want to talk about you. How are you? How is Quidditch? Is Uncle Oliver treating you well? I can't wait for Christmas break, because then I can come see your next match! I hear all the girls are swooning over you in the media. You just can't stop charming them with that blue hair, can you? ;) Well, it did make one girl fall in love. _

_I'm counting down the days, my love. _

_I can't wait to see you, and be in your arms once more._

_With all my love, _

_Vic_

Victoire signed her name with a kiss, then folded the letter and called for her owl, a beautiful snowy white one, named Lisette. She tied the letter onto her foot, and spoke softly to her owl.

"Le lettre à M. Lupin, Lisette. Survolez rapide, s'il vous plaît_," _she spoke softly to the French owl. With a melodic hoot, the beautiful white bird flew out of the window and into the night.


	18. Glamour

**Written for the Long Haul Competition, ****100K Multichapter Competition, and ****WIP Edit-a-thon 2014. (Word count: 1,558. Rating: K)**

**Thanks to Anka7995 and NerdGirl95 for the follows!**

**Reviews: **

**Rachelmarie (Guest): If you like Fred and James' pranks, then you're going to love this chapter, since that's all it is. The elves will be coming in soon! I'm trying to figure out a way to have maybe secret conversations between elven people, since Lena isn't going to meet them until her later years at Hogwarts. About Lucy, of course she is redeemable. She's just extremely jealous and immature at the moment. She'll grow up eventually. I hope. (It's entirely possible that she will just take over and start writing the story herself; I don't write it, the characters do. Sometimes I think 'Go do this!' and they just look at me oddly and go back to doing fun stuff.) There is most definitely a bigger villain. There are quite a few. You'll be meeting them soon. :) Again, thanks for reviewing! I love hearing from you! **

**NerdGirl95: Thanks, love! It's fine, I understand life can get very busy. I'm not picky about reviews, just give me whatever you have and if you think of something later, PM me. Or leave another review. I'm flexible. I'm glad to know James is fun to read about, because I have so much fun writing about him! Sometimes, when adult conversation at the dinner table gets really boring, I start brainstorming this in my head. My parents have looked at me extremely weirdly a few times because I've started giggling at whatever antic I've thought up for James and Fred to do next. I'm glad you like Silena! I've been trying not to make her too much of a Mary Sue. Mostly, I've been basing her personality off a combination of a few people I know, myself included. You know, taking this person's intelligence, that person's pranks, that other person's fear of spiders... Just blending it all together. If personalities were genetic, she would have ten parents. And, ah, commas, the bane of my existence! I love them too much. I'm working on that one. :)**

**Anka: Yea, I see Neville being close to McGonagall too, but babies are hard work! And after the war, I think he would have at least gotten the courage to argue a bit. Also, I don't think McGonagall would have pushed that point as his reasoning was very sound. The reason I didn't let Hermione in on the secret was because while I think she would have readily agreed, I don't think Ron would have. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Ron, but I just don't think he would be as understanding as Harry and Ginny would be. Also, I think McGonagall would have understood the need for another girl that Lena could be friends with. Rosie would have been lovely for the remainder of the summer, but they weren't in the same year, so they would have been separated. At least with Lily becoming her best mate, there was a chance of them ending up in the same house. Also, I think Harry would have grown really close to McGonagall as well after the war, because she was closest to Dumbledore of all the teachers, and I think they would have found solace in each other.**

**MuggleJane: I'm glad you liked the letters! I tried to make each one fit with the person who was writing it. As for the SPaG stuff, I'll go fix that. (by the time you read this, it will most likely be fixed.) And yes, for the next-gen kids, I feel like they wouldn't ALL be in Gryffindor. Some of them would be, but I think their parents would have learned not to emphasize one certain house after the whole Pureblood extremist stuff happened, so I think some of them wouldn't have felt like they needed to be in Gryffindor. And I think that everyone has qualities from all the houses, it's just that you tend to use the ones you like. So if someone wanted to be a Gryff, they would want to be brave, and that would be reflected in them. Also, I really just wanted the Weasley family in each house. I think that's fun. Because the family could rule the school (Now, I'm not going to make this happen, but you could have the Weasley's all be the prefects at once, ya know? That would be a lot of fun.) And yes, there will definitely be plot twists and drama and family/house competition and all that jazz.**

**Liz (TheNextFolchart): On Chapter 4: Yes, she can be so oblivious. But honestly, she's only known a life of chores and working for Ms. Benson. So she doesn't really realize that not only do normal children not do much sweeping, but also wizards don't use brooms for sweeping in the first place. I'm glad you like it. (And expect many more instances where Lena is clueless about magic). On Chapter 5: Yes James and Len are friends. :) for now. I ship them. They are going to happen. And she is going to be so mischevious. Lily too. I don't think either of them are prefect material. But they are smart, so maybe. I might make that happen. Who knows? I'm just getting her through her first year.**

**R&R! Thanks!**

* * *

Midyear exams were over, and everyone would be leaving for home the next day, save those who were remaining at Hogwarts. The year was winding down, and everyone's minds were on the upcoming Christmas holidays.

One of the new traditions Professor McGonagall had set in place after the war was a revival of the Yule Ball. While it wasn't inter-school anymore, the students had always loved a chance to party. Students in their fourth year and above were, traditionally, allowed to attend; the younger students were only allowed in if invited by an older student. All the younger students who were not asked to the Ball were invited to a simpler get-together in the Room of Requirement, if desired.

Silena wasn't extremely interested in the party for her own age, not after she and Lily had gotten to watch Victoire getting ready for the Ball. Victoire was wearing the most beautiful dress to the party. It was a sparkling ice-blue, with swirling sliver designs that looked like ice trailing up the teale skirt. As it traveled up, the dress's color faded into a cold, pale blue, turning a near white. The sleeves were made of a shimmering, see through silk, and were also decorated with the same silver sparkles. When the girls had fawned over the dress, she had smiled and told them about it matching with her boyfriend's-Teddy was his name-hair. He was taking time off from Quidditch just to come dance with her, and they would both leave on the train together the next day. Once she had seen it, Lena couldn't help but sneak down to watch the seventh year girl laughing and talking with the other students.

So that was how Silena found herself crouched in the shadows along the railings of the Grand Staircase, watching as the older students laughed inside, the girls' dresses sparkling like icicles in the sun as they were twirled around by handsome young men. She watched as more smiling couples entered the ball room, observed and directed by Professor McGonagall.

And she watched as two boys jaunted towards the doors, acting as if they owned the place, holding hands. She would have thought nothing of it- she didn't see a problem with boys liking boys or girls liking girls- had she not recognized the bright red, curly hair of Fred Weasley

_What... Fred is gay?!_

She looked at the other boy, widening her eyes as she realized exactly who the other boy was. No, Fred wasn't gay- not with James Potter on his arm.

They were up to something.

Silently, she slipped down the staircase and crept closer so she could spy. She watched closely as the two boys approached McGonagall.

"Third years are not allowed into the ball room, Potter. You know that. While I unfortunately must allow access to your partner in crime, I can still pleasurably turn you away," the old woman said sharply. She was obviously as wary of these two as Silena was, and the young girl couldn't help but wonder what they had tried before.

"But, Professor, James is my date! I'm allowed to bring a plus one, and he or she can be a younger student. So you _have _to let him in!" Fred crowed triumphantly, thinking he had finally beaten his headmistress.

Her eyes flashed humourously. "Ah, but Mr. Weasley, you may bring a date! However, you can only date a friend. Dating a family member is called incest, and that is not legal in Britain. But of course your family would know all about that, seeing as your Aunt Hermione helped write the laws defining and preventing incest to help prevent the pureblood extremists from continuing their practices?" She looked down on him, daring the boy to cross her. "Shall I ask, just to see if I am right?"

Fred and James immediately turned white, stepping away from each other quickly. "That won't be necessary, Professor!" James muttered, turning bright red. His Aunt Hermione was a very passionate woman about the issues she felt strongly about, and, of course, she would realize what they were up to the moment she heard. Then she would tell his mother and father. His dad would laugh, but his mum... she took after Nana Weasley.

"But, Professor... James is my friend!" Fred argued, pushing it as far as he could. He and James had been attempting to get them both into the ball for years, and this was their last chance. Before, no fourth year girl wanted to take such two troublemakers to the ball, and all of their older cousins knew exactly what to expect.

"He is your cousin first and foremost," McGonagall said primly, clearly enjoying this battle. "Mr. Weasley, you may either continue into the ballroom alone, or you may leave," she finished firmly. The two boys knew they had been beaten, and they trudged towards Silena's corner dejectedly.

_"James! Fred" _Silena whispered quietly. The two boys whipped around. She had gone completely unnoticed as she stood motionless in the shadows.

"Lena! Good, you can help us," Fred said determinedly, grabbing her arm and pulling her down a side corridor. James followed curiously.

"How can she help? She's a first year. She can't get me into the ball." James was regarding Fred furiously.

"Aye, but I can take _her _into the ball, and then she can slip to the side door and let you in. No one will be watching. Just take that cloak and sneak around."

Fred was looking at her appraisingly. "You don't look like you're going to a ball, but you'll have to do, I guess." He sighed, obviously annoyed at his necessary adjustment to his plans.

"Fred, when you told James to take the cloak, did you happen to be talking about the one that makes him invisible?" Lena inquired quietly.

He looked at her sharply. "You know about that?"

She nodded. "If it makes him invisible, why doesn't James just hide under it? He could just sneak in that way..."

Fred grinned. "She's got a good head on her shoulders, James. We could use her. But, unfortunately, Brownie," he said, turning back to her," Minnie-Moo there knows about the cloak, and she's gotten really good at sensing those quiet sounds that don't seem to belong to anyone. Most people miss them, but she doesn't. She'd catch him in a heartbeat."

Lena took this bit of information in, thinking hard. "Well, how will the side door help? It's up by the staff table, and besides, do you even know how to get back there? Is there even another way in?"

James looked at her. "Well, we think there's a way in through a door we found outside, but we haven't had opportunity to test it..." He trailed off, shifting uncomfortably. She had caught the fatal flaw of their plan too quickly for his liking.

"Well, then, I think you need a disguise, then. I can probably make you one." She turned to James, thinking aloud. "We'd need to change your hair color, and the length, and of course make you look a little developed, you know, but if we could make you look like... Oh! Of course! We'll just make you look like me!" She grinned.

Fred stared at her. 'Um... Can you do that?"

She nodded. "Well, I've always been able to manipulate looks to a certain extent, but it takes a lot of concentration. It's easiest if I'm trying to make a copy of something I know really well. I won't be able to hold the image for the entire ball, so you have to get in quickly. I can give you about five minutes. Will that work?"

Fred nodded excitedly. "Yes! Do it now. I definitely want to know more about this later, though,' he said, giving her a scrutinizing once-over.

Lena concentrated on James. She had only ever really done this on herself, but she had managed to change Owen's hair color a couple times. She hoped she would be able to make James look like a girl long enough to get him through the doors.

Slowly, as she focused her mind, James' features began to morph into those of a girl's. He shrunk, his hair lengthened, turned a platinum blonde, and his hazel eyes turned bright blue. A smattering of freckles developed across his nose, and his fingers lengthened until Lena found herself looking directly at a perfect copy of herself.

She was pleased with her handiwork for a moment before the exhaustion hit her.

"Go, now, James," she whispered, struggling to remain in control of her magic. "Before I run out of energy. Just get in those doors."

The two boys nodded, and began to leave. Turning back, James spoke in a voice that was still his.

_Crap, _she thought, quickly changing it.

"Why are you helping us, Brownie?"

She smiled weakly. "Isn't that what Brownies do?"

James grinned back and winked. "You're the best Brownie in the entire world. Thanks!" With that, he and Fred raced towards the doors.

Lena smiled to herself. He had said she was the best in the world.

It was nice to be appreciated.


End file.
